A qualitative inquiry into consumer beliefs about the causes of mental illness.
This paper examines consumer or service user beliefs about the causes of mental illness. It presents a qualitative, participatory action research study involving semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 people who had been diagnosed with a mental illness and attended a community mental health centre in metropolitan South Australia. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken, with a range of beliefs about the possible cause of mental illness identified. Findings are organized within two key areas: social or environmental factors and physical or biological factors. The social or environmental category included varied situations, clustered under the subcategories of: stress during childhood, events in adulthood and religious beliefs. Physical or biological factors included beliefs that mental illness was inherited, caused by brain malfunction or chemical imbalance. Of note, one-third of consumer participants who discussed possible causes of mental illness identified multiple potential causes. Implications for service delivery, specifically related to therapeutic trust and engagement, are also considered.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia. amy.baker@unisa.edu.au
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013021:South Australia; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*