BACKGROUND: Parents often become the caregivers for their adult children with serious
mental illness (SMI) due to the chronic and debilitating course of the illness and shortages in
funding for community mental health services and residential placements. OBJECTIVE: To
examine parents' management styles when caring for adult children with SMI and parents'
perspectives on what type of community-based mental health interventions would support
and/or enhance overall family functioning. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study using …

The purpose of this study was to examine parents' management styles when caring for adult
children with serious mental illness (SMI), as well as parents' perspectives on what type of
community-based mental health interventions would support and/or enhance overall family
functioning. This qualitative descriptive study was undergirded by Knafl and Deatrick's
Family Management Style Framework. Thirty parents (N= 30) caring for adult children with
SMI over age 18 were recruited as participants. Demographic data included age, gender …