For more than thirty years researchers have been interested in the description and classification of stressful life events, their impact on the population, and the extent to which people are successful in coping with them. This presentation will focus on stressful life events and situations experienced by persons who are seriously mentally ill and who are residents of three types of mental health residential programs: scattered-site supported housing, supervised apartments, and group homes. The programs studied are in Massachusetts and Upstate New York, and are part of the larger national study of housing approaches within the CMHS Housing Initiative for Persons with Serious Mental Illness.
This presentation will include the following: 1) an examination of the stressful life events and situations by housing program type, baseline compared to six months; and, 2) a comparison of stressors experienced by the research study’s seriously mentally ill sample and the general population. The specific stressors include both single events (e.g. death of a close friend, divorce) as well as more on-going, chronic situations (e.g. being short of money, having friends that are a bad influence). Information from residents was obtained from extensive, face-to-face interviews.
Within one site we will also show comparisons between persons who were recently admitted to the program and persons who had been in the program 12-30 months at the time they were interviewed. We will also discuss the implications of the findings for staff training and the design of services in mental health residential programs.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to: 1. Describe the stressful life events and situations experienced by supported housing residents, and residents of other housing programs. 2. Describe differences in the stressors experienced by supported housing residents compared to the general public. 3. Discuss the implications of the findings for staff training and the design of services in mental health residential programs.
Keywords: Housing, Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.