Abstract

Background: The way mothers in the Bedouin communities cope with the stress of caring for a child with schizophrenia merits investigation.

Aim: This study examined the relationships between Bedouin mothers' appraisal of their child's schizophrenia, their expressed emotions and their strategies for coping with the illness.

Method: Sixty Bedouin mothers of children with schizophrenia completed questionnaires regarding demographic variables, incident appraisal, measure of expressed emotion, and their coping strategies.

Results: Illness appraised as a loss correlated positively and significantly with high levels of expressed emotions, but illness appraised as a challenge did not. Expressed emotions correlated negatively and significantly with use of problemfocused coping strategies, but not with emotion-focused coping strategies, and illness appraised as a challenge correlated significantly and positively with emotion-focused coping strategies.

Conclusion: The study provides preliminary evidence regarding the relationship between Bedouin mothers' appraisal of their child's schizophrenia, their expressed emotions and their choice of coping strategies.