title: Sense of coherence and quality of life in women family members of the seriously mentally ill.
abstract: Providing care to a family member with serious mental illness (SMI) can reduce a family's quality of life. Quality of life, however, can be positively influenced by the caregiver's sense of coherence (SOC). Antonovsky's Salutogenic Health Model was examined in this secondary analysis of data from 60 women family members of adults with SMI. The results indicated that greater perceived stress decreased SOC and QoL, greater SOC enhanced QoL, and SOC partially mediated the effects of perceived stress on QoL. The findings suggest the need for reducing stress and strengthening SOC to promote optimal QoL for family members of adults with SMI.
authors.affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4904, USA. mjs5@case.edu
authors.forename: M Jane
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Suresky
authors.forename: Jaclene A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zauszniewski
authors.forename: Abir K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Bekhet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires