Abstract
Objective: The goal of the current study was to examine whether parenting an adult child with a serious mental illness (SMI) has a physiological impact on parents. Method: Multiple samples of saliva were collected on 4 days from 61 parents (mean age = 60.07 years, SD = 10.01) of individuals with a SMI (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression; mean age = 32.46 years, SD = 10.57) and a comparison group of 321 parents (mean age = 58.09 years, SD = 12.88) of individuals without a SMI (mean age = 32.36; SD = 13.87). Saliva samples were assayed for the hormone cortisol and group differences in diurnal cortisol patterns and their association with daily stress severity were explored. Results: On days after elevated stress, a hypoactivation pattern of diurnal cortisol suggestive of chronic stress was evident for parents of individuals with a SMI. After more stressful days, cortisol levels increased less from waking to 30 min after waking and declined less from 30 min after waking to bedtime for parents of individuals with a SMI. Conclusions: The results of the current study add to a growing body of evidence that the long-term effects of parenting an adult with a disability has a biological impact on aging parents and support the need for family interventions across adulthood and into old age for parents of individuals with SMI.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 130-134 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Health Psychology |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2012 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Applied Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health