Principal Investigator:
King Davis, Ph.D.
Duration: 1/03-8/31/03
Despite an abundance of research studies on caregivers in families with a severely mentally ill member, the focus of research has been almost exclusively on the caregiving role of mothers, ascribing this responsibility inherently to women. Because major mental illness tends to occur in adolescence and young adulthood, the family as a whole plays a critical role in providing and accessing services.
The primary goals of this study are to: 1) thoroughly review the recent and historical research literature to identify key variables, research questions and research models; 2) develop a theoretical frame of reference that helps explain differences in caregiving by fathers across racial and class lines; 3) identify and assess the instruments that have been used in the literature to measure key factors associated with fathers of offspring with severe mental illness; and 4) identify and test a number of hypotheses that stem from the literature review of previous studies.
Sponsor:
Faculty Research Award, The University of Texas at Austin