Psychosocial and political mechanisms of ambiguous loss among children having a parent with schizophrenia: A grounded theory study

The main purpose of the current study was to establish a theory investigating ambiguous loss experiences of offspring with parental schizophrenia through psychosocial and political lenses. The data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with 10 participants. A qualitative design was employed, and for the analysis of the qualitative data, the grounded theory approach was utilized. The results of the analysis presented that having a parent with schizophrenia was associated with several impediments to offspring lives under three different contexts that were (1) impediments in the home environment, (2) impediments in the relationships with extended family members, and (3) impediments in the socio-politic realm. These impediments were interdependent and reinforced by a vicious cycle of secrecy around the disease, the lack of support resources, and stigmatization. Hence, offspring were isolating themselves and searching for meanings to comprehend their experiences regarding parental schizophrenia. Afterward, this path combines with the parentification and ambiguous loss under the effects of the psychological absence of the affected parent and longing for normality. As a result, multi-factorial losses with unresolved grief and parentification emerged as the outcomes of parental schizophrenia. The findings of the current study emphasized the necessity of psychological and sociopolitical arrangements for the target population in line with the importance of increasing awareness regarding community mental health resources in Turkey.