Helpful resources recognized by adult children of parents with a mental illness in Japan

Aim: This study aimed to identify the resources recognized as helpful by children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) to cope with the difficulties they experienced in their lives. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 adults who experienced parental mental illness in their childhood. Participants were asked to discuss resources that were beneficial to them. Text segments from the verbatim transcriptions were identified with summarizing codes, and the codes were compared and contrasted to generate subcategories and categories. The case characteristics and subcategories were reorganized to retest the validity of the categories. Results: Parental mental illness onset occurred before birth or in early childhood for four participants and during elementary or junior high school for six participants. Six categories emerged: protection from the harmful influences of parents' symptoms; care received from adults at home and school; occasional experience of mutual affection and support within the family; emotional validation and sustained support by others; understanding how to cope using information on mental illnesses; and time for oneself and experiences away from the parent. Conclusions: Helpful resources recognized by COPMI involved not only emotional connections, but also resources related to their daily lives and time for themselves. Understanding the gaps in COPMI's resources can facilitate effective support. Emotional validation by others and time for themselves and away from the parent are important for promoting their development. Society needs to better understand mental illness.