Diwan, Sadhna

Family caregivers (FCs) of persons with mental illness (PMI) often experience caregiving burdens that contribute to poor mental health. As compared to European-American FCs, Asian-American FCs may experience greater caregiving burden due to an increased likelihood of cohabiting with PMIs. Yet, limited research exists on the caregiving experience of Asian-American FCs and on how self-care practice and social support mediate caregiver burden among FCs of PMIs.

Family caregivers (FCs) of people with mental illness (PMI) experience caregiving-related distress. These challenges tend to be greater for Asian American families due to acculturative stress and structural barriers to services. However, little is known about caregiving-related experiences among FCs of PMI within a cultural context. By using an exploratory approach, we examined the experience of caregiver distress and the influence of cultural values on caregiving in European American and Chinese American FCs.

While involvement of family caregivers can play an important role in the recovery process of persons with serious mental illness (SMI), family caregivers often endure poor health and mental health issues due to caregiving-related distress. These challenges may be exacerbated for Vietnamese American families due to cultural values (e.g., familism and stigma). This qualitative exploratory study examined how Vietnamese American family caregivers of persons with SMI describe their caregiving experience.