Experiences of Individuals Schizophrenia Who Were Violent against Their Parents

Abstract

Objective: To describe the experiences of individuals with schizophrenia who were violent against their parents.

Methods: Individual interviews were conducted with eight men and one woman who committed violence against their parents. They discussed the background of events leading to and during their violent acts, their feelings after committing such acts, and so on. Data then underwent descriptive and qualitative analysis.

Results: The participants with schizophrenia who were violent toward their parents experienced increased pain, adversarial relationships with their parents, unreleased pain, confusion on whether to express resentment, release from pain, pleasure that then became regret, settled resentment, a rethinking of the situation, and strengthened relationships with their parents.

Discussion: To prevent violence, healthcare professionals need to encourage and support healthy energy and help parents and children manage their relationships with each other. The hope remains for professionals to consider that the onset of violence may trigger eventual recovery.