Vol. 25 No. 1 2022 AJPSSI
STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG RELATIVES OF MENTALLY ILL IN IBADAN
METROPOLIS, OYO STATE, NIGERIA
AFOLABI, Abimbola
Department of social Work,
Faculty of Education,
University o f Ibadan, Nigeria.
Telephone Number: 08035627992
Email address: drafolabiabimbola@gmail.com
afolabi.abimbola@dlc.ui.edu.ng
and
SALAMI, Kabiru
Department of Sociology,
Faculty of Social Sciences,
University o f Ibadan, Nigeria.
Telephone Number: 08057474614 
Email address: kabsalami@yahoo.co.uk
ABSTRACT
Mental illness of an individual does not just affect the patient, it may also be seen as a problem of the whole family. As 
primary care givers, families suffer from stress factors such as financial burdens, the neglect of other sibling and the 
interruption of the family routines. This work investigates the stress factors and coping strategies adopted by 
relatives of people living with mental illness in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo state. The study adopted a cross-sectional 
research design involving 300 relatives of mentally ill individuals seen at the psychiatric unit of Ring Road State hospital, 
Ibadan. A purposive sampling was used to elicit information from respondents. Among other findings, it found that 59% 
of respondents were children of the mentally ill patients and 43% indicated that the emotional stress was the major 
stressor identified and creation of humour (29%) was the major coping strategy employed by the relatives. Furthermore, 
there were significant relationship between stressors, coping strategies and gender of the caregivers. The study 
recommends that the government health care providers and policy makers should organize public enlightenment 
programmes on mental health education. Health care providers should educate family members of mentally ill so as to 
enable them cope with stressors.
Keywords: Stress, Coping strategies, mental illness, relatives.
INTRODUCTION
Mental illness is the term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders which 
are health conditions that are characterized by alteration in thinking, mood or behaviour 
associated with distress and/or impaired functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 1994; 
Charlson et al., 2016).American Psychiatric Association (1994) documented that alterations in 
thinking and behaviour contribute to a host of problems like distress, impaired functioning, 
disability, loss of freedom and heightened risk of death. In 2016 over 1 billion people were 
recorded to be affected by mental disorder worldwide and they are responsible for 19% of years 
lived in disability. (GBD, 2016). ).Mental illness carries great social stigma especially linked with 
fear of unpredictable and violent behaviour (Rehm and Shield, 2019). Mental illness of an 
individual therefore, may be seen as a problem of the whole family. As primary care givers, 
families suffer from stress factors such as financial burdens, the neglect of other sibling and the 
interruption of the family routines Charlson et al., 2016). Stress therefore is the body's response 
to physical, mental, or emotional changes, situations, and forces. Stress can result from external 
factors (e.g., events, environment) or from internal factors (e.g., expectations, attitudes, feelings). 
Stress often occurs in response to situations that are perceived as being difficult to handle or 
threatening. Common causes for stress include illness, injury, fear, and anxiety.
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When studying the adjustment of families of formerly hospitalized mentally ill relative, 
(Karnieli-Miller, 2013)found that families feel hopelessly burdened or trapped by the former 
patient’s problems. In a study conducted by Chukwu et al (2019) on a support group of parents 
of mentally ill persons, it was found that parents often bear the burden of guilt and feelings of 
responsibilities for their child’s mental illness. The term coping generally refers to expending 
conscious efforts to solve personal and interpersonal problems and seeking to master, minimise 
or tolerate stress (Weiten and Lloyd, 2008).Coping skills are methods a person uses to deal with 
stressful situations and this takes practice. Among these coping strategies are: spirituality, 
physical activities, relaxation techniques, friendship building, sleeping creating humour and 
engaging in hobbies. However, utilizing these skills becomes easier overtime. Most importantly, 
good coping strategies or skills make way for good mental health wellness. Coping responses are 
partly controlled by personality habitual traits and partly by the social environment (Carver, 
Charles; Connor-Smith, Jennifer, 2010).
Family members are often reluctant to discuss their mentally ill member with their friends 
because they do not know how people will react due to myths and misconception that surround 
mental illness. This bearing of burden by members of the family of those having mental illness 
results in stress. Reliance on the families of people with a mental illness inevitably results in some 
form of burden experienced by carers (Karp (2000).Being a caregiver for someone with mental 
illness can create considerable costs for families and often involves the family unit in a long-term 
stress that threatens the physical, social and mental wellbeing of all family members (Pickett- 
Schenk et al. 2000). Previous studies have been done but most of the studies examined were 
often directed to meeting unmet needs of the mentally ill rather than incorporate the needs of the 
family as a whole. There is then the need to investigate the stress factors and coping strategies 
adopted by relatives of people living with mental illness. This study investigates the stress 
experienced and coping strategies adopted by relatives of people living with mental illness in 
Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo state. Nigeria. This involves; investigating the stressors experienced by 
relatives of people living with mental illness, investigating how relatives of people living with 
mental illness cope with their stressors and exploring factors determining the adoption of their 
preferred coping strategies.
Theoretical Framework
The theory adopted for this study is the Family System theory, it is also known as the 
system model theory. The pioneers of family system theory are Nathan Ackerman, Jay Haley, 
Donald Jackson, Virginia Satir, Murray Bowen and Lyman Wyne. These pioneers started their 
work in 1950 although their work primarily began in the area of schizophrenia, which quickly 
spread to the entire field of mental illness. Family system theories make us to see abnormal 
behaviour as the product of habitual relationship patterns, usually within the family. These theories 
recognize the importance of the family in determining the psychosocial and emotional well-being 
of each member. By the 1970s, these theories were applied to specific patterns of abnormal 
behaviour, Coyne, 2000 suggested that depression might be the product of a spiral of 
complementary dominance and submission responses. Bowen’s theory was developed during his 
work with schizophrenic families. He began seeing distinctions in affective states and cognitive 
processed that led to his scale of differentiation.
This early work was based on psychoanalytic theory and applied to an approach that 
defined the family as a system operated by the principles as other system such as societies, 
corporations, or institutions. Bowen further believes that a person current behaviour was caused 
by a transference process that inappropriately applied to the past history and behaviours to 
present situations. Bowen noticed that "stuck togetherness” was the family’s defense against 
crisis or tension. They would pull together when they felt stressed and isolate themselves from 
outside influence to restore balance. This system was described as a delicate balance a change 
in one member would affect all other members. In this system the smallest unit (consisting of
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three people) was called the triangle. Bowen felt that dyads (two people) who could not handle 
stress would bring a third person to stabilize the unit. In a state of calm, there are two comfortable 
sides of the triangle and one conflict.
In summary, the family system theory is important to this study as it will enable family members 
of mentally ill to look at dysfunctional behaviour in the family in terms of lack of differentiation of 
family members, repression of individuality and the inability of spouses to differentiate from their 
parents past behaviours. It is also deduced that while one member of the family may have 
symptoms, the disturbance is not merely in the symptomatic person but in the family unit as a 
whole. The family is seen as a system in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
M ETHODOLOGY
The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. The incidence of schizophrenia cases seen 
at the psychiatric unit of Ring Road State hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State was ascertained to be seven 
hundred and forty-one (741) and recorded. The study population was two relatives (spouse and 
children) each of all the incidences of schizophrenia. This then gives a total population of one 
thousand, four hundred and eighty-two (1482).Using Yaro Yamani’s sample size selection 
formula, sample size was three hundred and fifteen (315). Assuming a 10% attrition rate, the final 
sample size was 315 + 32 = 347. Purposive sampling technique was used by using only relatives 
of patients with schizophrenia.. This was done by including two members from the family of each 
patient with schizophrenia who have accompanied the patient to the outpatient clinic. These family 
members also reside with mentally ill relative.
This study adopted well-structured questionnaire which sought responses from relatives of 
mentally ill was used. The first section sought responses on demographic characterises of the 
respondents. The section has 10 questions. The second section has 14 questions which sought 
responses on stressors experienced by relatives of people living with mental illness. The third 
section also had 14 questions and sought responses on relatives’ coping strategies with stressors. 
The last section which has 14 questions sought responses on factors determining coping 
strategies adopted by family members of people living with mental illness. The face and construct 
validity of the instrument were ascertained by other experts in the field and the reliability of the 
questionnaire was done by test re-test method and the following alpha values were obtained: 
stressor experience 0.72, coping strategies 0.74, and preferred choice 0.91.
The questionnaires were personally administered by the researcher with the assistance of 
psychiatric nurses, psychiatric doctors and social workers at the psychiatric unit of Ring Road 
State hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State. The data collection was carried out between 1st February and 
15th June, 2016, during which time all documented patients had opportunities of attending follow 
up appointments. These relatives filled the questionnaires within the hospital premise after the 
medical practitioner had attended to the ill family member. The Ethical approval was gotten from 
an ethics board before commencement of the study, informed consents were obtained from the 
participants and data collection was done with adherence to ethics of explaining the purpose of 
the study to each respondents and asking their permission to be involved in the study by 
answering questionnaire and ensuring confidentiality of respondent’s responses. The data 
generated from the field with the help of questionnaire were checked, cleaned, coded and 
analysed using the statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS version 20).The data were 
analyzed at both descriptive and inferential levels and presented in frequencies, Percentages, chi 
square and correlation analysis at0.05significance level of acceptance or rejection.
RESULTS
Socio-demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Table 1 indicates that the most represented aged group (20.3%, 61) of the respondents in the 
study were in the age range of 50-59 years of age. The gender of the respondents was fairly 
distributed among both sex, 168 (56%) were male while 132 (44%) were female. This shows that
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there are more male respondents than female during the data collection on the field. Also majority 
of respondents (36.3%) were married, 25.7% were single, 24% of respondents were separated 
while very few (8%& 6%) of respondents were divorced and widow. More than half of the 
respondent (174, 58%) practiced Islamic while 36% (108) affiliated with Christianity religion.
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Table 1. Socio-demographics characteristics of respondents
Variable Frequency Percentage
Age range (in years)
20-24 20 6.7
25 -  29 39 13
30 -  34 34 11.3
35 -  39 58 19.3
40 -  44 27 9
45 -  49 34 11.3
50 -  54 61 20.3
55 -  59 9 3
>59 18 6
Sex
Male 168 56
Female 132 44
Marital Status
Single 77 25.7
Married 109 36.3
Separated 72 24
Divorced 24 8
Widowed 18 6
Religion
Christianity 108 36.
Islam 174 58
Traditional 11 3.7
Others 7 2.3
TOTAL 300 100.0
The distribution of educational status of respondents in figure 1 shows that 20.7% of respondents 
have no formal education. 17.7% of respondents have completed Primary school, 30.3% of 
respondents completed their Secondary school and 31.3% of respondents completed their tertiary 
school. This implies that, majority of respondents were learned and few of respondents have no 
formal education.
Fig 1 Distribution of Respondents Educational Status
It was observed in the research that one hundred and sixty-six of the respondents which is the 
highest (55.3%)group reside in low density areas. The lowest (19.3%) totalling fifty-eight reside in 
medium density areas. Various relationships with the mentally ill family member were established
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from the research work. Children of mentally ill relative constituted the largest group (59%) while 
parents are the smallest group (16%). The ethnic group distribution shows that Yoruba people 
form the largest population (83.3%) of the respondents. Igbos, Hausas and others are also part 
of the research work. This distribution can be attributed to the locality of the research work which 
is predominantly a Yoruba speaking placeIn discussing distribution of the structure of household, 
the research work found nuclear family to be the highest population amongst the respondents 
used for the study. Those that belong to the extended family are one hundred and forty-three 
(47.7%).
Table 2: Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents
Variable Frequency Percentage
Population Density of Residence
Low Density 166 55.3
Medium Density 58 19.3
High Density 78 35.5
Relationship with the patient
Parent 48 16
Spouse 75 25
Child 177 59
Ethnicity
Yoruba 250 83.3
Igbo 42 14
Hausa 5 1.7
Others 3 1
Household Structure
Nuclear 146 48.7.
Extended 143 47.7
Others 11 3.7
TOTAL 300 100.0
Stress experienced by relatives of people living with schizophrenia
The relatives of people living with mental illness experienced physical, social, emotional and 
psychological stress in the family. This study found that most respondents experienced emotional 
stress most (43%) closely followed by experience of physical stress which is reported by 32% of 
the respondents.
Physical
Psycology
Social
Emotional
0 10 20 30 40 50
Fig 2: Distribution of Respondents on Stressor Experience in the Family
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COPING STRATEGIES WITH STRESSORS
Table 3 has shown responses on the impact of different coping strategies with stress. There are 
severa! coping strategies but the ones reported include avoidance, creation of humour, mental 
health education, spiritual help, seeking help from others, use of alcohol and other drugs. Creation 
of humour was rated highest (29.3%) form of coping strategies the respondents employed to cope 
with stress faced because of the family member with mental illness. Use of alcohol and other 
drugs are the least (11%) reported form of coping strategies.
TABLE 3: COPING STRATEGIES WITH STRESSOR
Coping strategies
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Avoidance 39 13
Creation of Humour 88 29.3
Mental health education 47 15.7
Spiritual Help 59 19.7
Use of Alcohol and 33 11
other drug
Seeking help from 34 11.3
others
TOTAL 300 100
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO COPING STRATEGIES
Figure 3 has shown various factors contributing to the choice of coping strategies. It was obviously 
shown that gender of respondents was the most (30%) considered factor contributing to the 
choice of coping strategy made. Cultural affiliation (13%), severity of illness (12.3%), duration of 
illness (11.7%) and age (10.3%) are factors considered to be contributing to the choice of coping 
strategies at about the same rate whereas social support is the least considered.
13%
Ethnic Group 
Severity of Illiness 
Personality 
Level of... 
Gender - J 30%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Fig 3: Distribution of Respondents on the Factors that contribute to the choice of coping strategies 
Relationship between coping strategies and age as a stressor
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Table 4 shows, there is a significant relationship between respondent’s Age and their coping 
strategies adopted. Since the p-value (0.001) for the Chi-square test is less than 0.05. This means 
that, age of respondents influence their coping strategies adopted. The tables and figures have 
also identified various coping strategies with seeking spiritual assistance, seeking help/social 
support and seeking mental education having higher responses. The study examined 
relationships between levels of expressed emotions in 44 parents of individuals with 
schizophrenia and the coping strategies they used. It is also similar to the submission that 
research consistently show humour and comedies are often associated with enduring negative 
stereotypes about social groups (Ford & Fergusson, 2004; Thomas and Essex, 2004).
TABLE 4: Relationship between coping strategies and age as a stressor
20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60-
24yrs 29yrs 34yrs 39yrs 44yrs 49yrs 54yrs 59yrs 64yrs Total
Avoidance 6 3 5 8 2 6 8 1 0 39
2.0% 1.0% 1.7% 2.7% .7% 2.0 2.7% .3% 0.0% 13.0
Creation Of 5 7 4 18 6 12 23 2 11 88
humor 1.7% 2.3% 1.3% 6.0% 2.0% 4.0% 7.7% .7% 3.7% 29.3%
Mental Health 4 13 9 6 5 3 3 4 0 47
Education 1.3% 4.3% 3.0% 2.0% 1.7% 1.0% 1.0% 1.3% 0.0% 15.7%
Spiritual Help 2 8 8 10 4 7 15 0 5 59
.7% 2.7% 2.7% 3.3% 1.3% 2.3% 5.0% 0.0% 1.7% 19.7%
Use of Alcohol 3 2 4 12 3 5 3 1 0 33
and other drug 1.0% .7% 1 .3% 4.0% 1.0% 1.7% 1.0% .3% 0.0% 11.0%
Seeking 0 6 4 4 7 1 9 1 2 34
Help from 0.0% 2.0% 1.3% 1.3% 2.3% .3% 3.0% .3% .7% 11.3%
Others
Total 20 39 34 58 27 34 61 9 18 300
6.7% 13.0% 11.3% 19.3% 9.0% 11.3% 20.3% 3.0% 6.0% 100.%
X2 = 75.428DF=40 P-VALUE (0.001)
Relationship between coping strategies adopted and gender
From the Table 5 below, there is a significant relationship between respondent’s Gender and 
their coping strategies adopted. Since the p-value (0.000) for the Chi-square test is less than 0.05. 
This means that, respondents gender influenced their coping strategies adopted.
TABLE 5: Relationship between coping strategies and gender
COPING STRATEGIES WITH
STRESSORS MALE FEMALE Total
Avoidance 35 (1.7%) 4 (0.3%) 39 (13.0%)
Creation Of humor 24 64 88
8.0% 1.3% 29.3%
Mental Health Education 32 15 47
0.7% 5.0% 15.7%
Spiritual Help 27 32 59
9.0% 0.7% 19.7%
Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs 30 3 33
10% 1.0% 11.0%
Seeking Help from Others 20 14 34
6.7% 4.7% 11.3%
Total 168 132 300
56.0% 44.0% 100%
X2 = 69.351 DF=5 P-VALUE (0.000)
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Factors influencing the preferred coping strategy adopted
From Table 6 below , there is a positive significant relationship between respondent’s Gender 
and their choice of coping strategies. Since the p-value (0.000) for the Chi-square test is less 
than 0.05. This means that, respondents gender influenced their choice of coping strategies.
TABLE 6: Relationship between factors influencing the preferred coping strategy and gender
FACTORS MALE FEMALE TOTAL
Age 31 0 31
10.3% 0.0% 10.3%
Level of 12 0 12
Education 4.0% 0.0% 4.0%
Place of 15 0 15
Residence 5.0% 0.0% 5.0%
Personality 23 0 23
7.7% 0.0% 7.7%
Duration 5 30 35
of Illness 1.7% 10.0% 11.7%
Severity 23 14 37
of Illness 7.7% 4.7% 12.3%
Social 5 0 5
Support 1.7 0.0% 1.7%
Ethnic 13 0 13
Group 4.3% 0.0% 4.3%
Cultural 39 0 39
Affiliation 13.0% 0.0% 13.0%
Total 168 132 300
56.0% 44.0% 100.0%
X2 = 239.351 DF=9 P-VALUE (0.000)
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS:
This study was conducted to investigate the stress factors and coping strategies adopted by 
relatives of people living with mental illness. The inclusion criteria are: the type of mental illness 
must be schizophrenia, the relative must reside with the mentally ill family member and he/she 
must be a parent, a sibling or a child ofthe mentally ill relative. The descriptive research design 
was adopted for the study and the research questions were tested using chi-square, percentages, 
bar charts and pie charts. The research has found male respondents to be 56% of the total 
respondents’ while the females constitute 44%. Most previous studies on mental distress has 
been more on females. A study on family caregivers’ experiences of involuntary psychiatric 
hospital admissions of their relatives showed 19 out of the 31 respondents interviewed was 
females. Literature has reported on the characteristics of people who attend mental health 
support groups. The figures are such that middle class females who have higher than average 
educational levels constitute higher percentage than their male counterparts (Borkman, 1997; 
Mannion et al, 1996; Norton et al, 1993). This finding from this research on age distribution of 
people who care for their relatives living with mental illness differ from previous ones. This 
difference may be due to environmental factors.
The study found majority (72%) of the relatives of people living with mental illness that 
participated in this study reported that the duration of the mental illness was more than three 
months. This duration of mental illness of their family member had effect on their carers and the
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duration contributed to the choice of coping strategies. This is in conformity with previous research 
which indicates that long term care giving in mental health is associated with stress and emotions 
such as shame, embarrassment, feelings of guilt and self-blame (Ohaeri, 2003). The study 
found that majority (82.3%) of the respondents confirmed that the care of their family member 
living with mental illness gave them stress as shown in table 16.There is strong positive significant 
relationship between family and religion place of stress among the respondents. There is a 
negative relationship between family place of stress and others. This implies that family place did 
not have the same effect like others and only religions have the same pattern with family place of 
stress. There is a strong positive significant relationship between works and friends place of stress 
while works place of stress shows negative relationship with others place of stress. This implies 
that work and friends shows the same effects.
Furthermore, there is a significant relationship among community, religion institution and 
friends place of stress. This implies that they have the same contributions. The finding is likened 
to a preliminary exploratory study (Wintersteen and Rasmussen, 1997) which found that a group 
of 25 fathers coping with the mental illness of an adult child exhibited emotional stress that was 
largely unrecognized and unacknowledged by mental professionals. In addition, fathers tended 
to utilize more isolating strategies for coping with their adult children’s mental illness. This was 
also particularly the case with the Canadian sample that included 40 members of schizophrenia 
support group (Thompson, 2002). This finding is also similar to that of a Swedish multi-centre 
study where 162 relatives of patients in acute psychiatric wards following both voluntary and 
compulsory admissions were interviewed concerning psychological factors related to stigma. A 
majority of the relatives’ psychological factors of stigma by association (Ostman and Kjellin, 2012). 
Furthermore, another study that was conducted to look into on Moroccan families of patients with 
schizophrenia by Nadia, Fortiha, Soumia and Driss, 2004, found 86.7% reported psychological 
suffering.These findings are also in conformity with clinical observation and early empirical 
research which showed that assuming a care giving role can be stressful and burdensome 
(Biegel, 1991). Also, in care giving, objective stressors lead to psychological stress and impaired 
health behaviours which stimulate physiologic responses resulting in stress and mortality 
(Vitaliano, 2003).
The study found that there is a significant relationship between respondent’s age and their 
coping strategies adopted. The study also identified various coping strategies with seeking 
spiritual assistance, seeking help/social support and seeking mental education having higher 
responses. The findings are similar to those most frequently used strategies which are seeking 
spiritual help and social support in a study conducted in by Hall in the year 2000. The study 
examined relationships between levels of expressed emotions in 44 parents of individuals with 
schizophrenia and the coping strategies they used. It is also similar to the submission that 
research consistently shows humour and comedies are often associated with enduring negative 
stereotypes about social groups (Ford & Fergusson, 2004; Thomas and Essex, 2004).
Conclusion
It is no gain saying the fact that being a relative of a family member living with mental illness 
attracts a lot of stress and require the need to adopt strategies to cope with the stressors. The 
study concluded that social and physical forms of stress occur more at work place than all other 
forms of stress. On the other hand, physical stress occurs most in religion institutions while 
psychological and physical occur at the same rate in the community. Relatives of people living 
with mental illness experience social stress most among friends closely followed by psychological 
and physical stress.
Several coping strategies were identified but music, seeking help and mental health education 
top the list. Factors that determined their preferred coping strategies found gender of the 
respondents playing a most vital role in their choice making.The study also established that there 
is a strong positive relationship between family and religion institutions. This shows that people
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experience similar stressors in both families and religion institutions. It also established that there 
is no relationship between respondents’ family care and their work.
Recommendations
Based on the above findings, the following recommendations are made:
■ Health practitioners especially social workers should carry out health education on 
coping strategies for relatives of mentally ill.
■ The government should make adequate provision to reduce environmental 
situations that create stress e.g. provision of adequate jobs, provision of social 
amenities or infrastructures (recreational centres, hospitals/health centres, 
rehabilitation homes and correctional homes e.t.c.).
■ Government should incorporate stress prevention programmes into mental health 
care with a view to reducing stress of people living with mental illness and their 
family members.
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