title: The meaning of social support for persons with serious mental illness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to better understand the population-specific types of social support relevant to adults living with serious mental illness (SMI). Our study was exploratory and used a qualitative approach that centered on uncovering the types of social support meaningful and relevant to persons with SMI.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample comprised of 52 adults receiving county mental health services in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data was gathered from 6 focus groups and analyzed using NVivo10 and Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill et al., 1997).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six qualitative domains were identified: (a) supportive conditions, (b) day-to-day living, (c) illness management, (d) resources and information, (e) guidance and advice, and (f) community participation support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the 6 support domains share some broad-based conceptual underpinnings with traditional models of emotional and instrumental support, the domains emerging from our study represent supports uniquely tied to the stressors associated with living with SMI, and therefore hold conceptual distinction from traditional types of support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from this study offer a conceptual framework for understanding social support for persons living with SMI and lay the groundwork for the development of a SMI-specific measure of social support. In addition, our research permits future researchers to investigate the conditions under which social support buffers the impact of SMI stressors, assisting service providers in more effective identification of individual support needs for clinical intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chronister
authors.affiliation: Department of Disability and Psycho- Educational Studies, University of Arizona.
authors.forename: Chih-Chin
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling.
authors.forename: Kwong-Liem Karl
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kwan
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lawton
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Silver
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012495:San Francisco; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support