The Impact of Mental Illness on the Family

Social scientists have become increasingly interested in the ways in which the mental disorder of one family member has emotional and behavioral consequences for other family members. In recent years, substantial advances have been made in understanding these processes. To some considerable extent, these advances have been the result of conceptualizing the mental illness of a family member as a source of social stress and then tracing its consequences for others’ psychological well-being. In thinking about mental illness as a stressor within the family, there are two bodies of literature that have traced the consequences of individuals’ mental disorders for their families: (1) the intergenerational transmission of mental illness and (2) the burden of stress experienced by family members who provide care to individuals with severe mental illness. We review the literature on each of these areas and identify areas where the sociology of mental health has had a major impact and areas where there appear to be important opportunities to develop a more distinctly sociological perspective.