The dialectic of friendship for people with psychiatric disabilities.
In the psychiatric literature, the meaning and importance of friendship has remained largely unexplored, subsumed under the rubric of social support or viewed as a component of community integration. Twenty-one qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals suffering from psychiatric disabilities focusing on the meaning of friendship as they described it. Analysis revealed the contrasts, contradiction and paradox of friendship for this group of people. The ongoing struggles of people with psychiatric disabilities regarding the need to connect with others and have friends, and conversely, the need to be alone and to withdraw from others, was highlighted.
Boydell
Katherine M
KM
Community Health Systems Resource Group, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. katherine.boydell@sickkids.ca
Gladstone
Brenda M
BM
Crawford
Elaine Stasiulis
ES
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support