A Qualitative Analysis of Gendered Experiences of Schizophrenia in an Outpatient Psychiatric Hospital in Mexico

Abstract

Individuals living with a major mental illness experience socioemotional impairments, including difficulties achieving gendered social role expectations. In Mexico, though gender roles are dynamic, men remain highly valued for their ability to provide economic security, whereas women are valued for expressions of family nurturance. Though failure to achieve gendered expectations has been associated with stigmatization and family conflict for individuals with schizophrenia, these relationships remain largely unexplored in Mexico. In this article, we examine the impact of gendered social roles for men and women living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in Mexico. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of semistructured interviews conducted with 19 individuals seeking outpatient services from a psychiatric clinic in Mexico, we explore how gendered expectations and social roles shape understandings of, and responses to, the illness experience of schizophrenia. Underlying themes for men and women with schizophrenia included the following: (a) Role Changes and (b) Expected Prognosis. Subthemes within Role Changes revealed that participants encountered difficulties with employment, changes in family roles and relationships, and familial stigma following their diagnosis. Subthemes within Expected Prognosis revealed that participants’ symptoms made it difficult to start a family, and that generally, those interviewed believed women had an easier time coping with their illness. Our findings suggest that assessing gendered expectations provides a more nuanced understanding of an individual’s lived experience of schizophrenia and may be leveraged to tailor clinical goals most important to a client’s social function.