IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v69y2023i3p735-743.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Lived experiences of mental health conditions in Singapore: A constructivist grounded theory study

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Han Loong Kuek
  • Toby Raeburn
  • Melissa Yan Zhi Chow
  • Timothy Wand

Abstract

Background: Since the 1990s, the mental healthcare field has begun shifting to conceptualisations of personal mental health recovery, emphasising the heterogeneous nature of how people develop and overcome the difficulties associated with mental ill health. Despite three decades of research on the topic, most recovery-oriented studies have been conducted in predominantly Western cultures, lacking the necessary nuances when applied in Asian settings. Aims: We sought to contribute to a growing body of research to fill this gap by exploring the experiences of people who experience mental ill-health in Singapore. Method: We adopted a constructivist grounded theory approach and interviewed 21 people who had been diagnosed as experiencing a mental health condition. Results: The core category emerging from interview participant perspectives was a ‘roller coaster ride of confusion’. This overarching category was made up of the following four sub-categories – ‘not understanding what was happening’, ‘losing control over self’, ‘unpacking the root of challenges’ and ‘trying to make sense of the situation’. Conclusions: Taken together, the journey of a person experiencing mental health recovery in Singapore is filled with obstacles and uncertainty due to various social and cultural influences such as family pressures, the competitiveness of society and the high-pressure nature of Singapore’s educational system. Future research needs to better understand if these are generalisable experiences, and interventions to mitigate their impact need to be explored. Given the strong societal influences, change will take time. Still, this study gives a voice to the lived experiences of people who face mental health challenges in Singapore in the hope that their insights may assist future generations in developing a more mentally healthy society.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Han Loong Kuek & Toby Raeburn & Melissa Yan Zhi Chow & Timothy Wand, 2023. "Lived experiences of mental health conditions in Singapore: A constructivist grounded theory study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(3), pages 735-743, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:69:y:2023:i:3:p:735-743
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640221135111
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640221135111
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00207640221135111?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Subhashini Gopal & Greeshma Mohan & Sujit John & Vijaya Raghavan, 2020. "What constitutes recovery in schizophrenia? Client and caregiver perspectives from South India," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(2), pages 118-123, March.
    2. May M.L. Lam & Veronica Pearson & Roger M.K. Ng & Cindy P.Y. Chiu & C.W. Law & Eric Y.H. Chen, 2011. "What does recovery from psychosis mean? Perceptions of young first-episode patients," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 57(6), pages 580-587, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shari Tess Mathew & Bergai Parthsarathy Nirmala & John Vijay Sagar Kommu, 2023. "Personal meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(1), pages 78-85, February.
    2. Subhashini Gopal & Greeshma Mohan & Sujit John & Vijaya Raghavan, 2020. "What constitutes recovery in schizophrenia? Client and caregiver perspectives from South India," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(2), pages 118-123, March.
    3. Vaios Peritogiannis & Afroditi Gogou & Maria Samakouri, 2020. "Very long-term outcome of psychotic disorders," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(7), pages 633-641, November.
    4. Sailaxmi Gandhi & Diksy Jose & Geetha Desai, 2020. "Perspectives of consumers in India on factors affecting recovery from schizophrenia," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(1), pages 93-101, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:69:y:2023:i:3:p:735-743. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.