Grieving schizophrenia: Impacts and coping with ambiguous loss among parents of adults diagnosed with schizophrenia

The aim of this study is to explore in depth how parents who care for their adult child with schizophrenia experience and cope with ambiguous loss, which is seen as one of the caregiver burdens experienced by caregivers. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants, all members of the schizophrenia solidarity associations in Ankara. The data obtained from the participants with semi-structured interviews were analyzed by reflexive theme analysis, one of the qualitative methodology methods. As a result of the analysis, four superordinate themes were identified: objective burdens, subjective burdens, family & social burdens and coping. The findings showed that the participants experienced ambiguous loss and grief regarding their children and burdens in different dimensions of their own lives. In this sense, the findings are generally consistent with the relevant literature. The findings related to coping revealed the importance of functional coping strategies used by parents caring for their children in coping with ambiguous loss. The results are discussed and clinical implications and directions for future research are provided. Keywords: Schizophrenia, Caregiver Burden, Ambiguous Loss, Grief, Coping