Poster Presentation
Thursday, July 12, 2007
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Thursday, July 12, 2007
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
The illness experience of depressed women - the interpersonal approach
Ching-Chu Lee, BS, RN, Department of Nursing, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan and Bih-Ching Shu, PhD, RN, Department of Nursing and Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, Tainan, Taiwan.
| Learning Objective #1: know more about how depressed women view their relationships with significant others. |
| Learning Objective #2: know about the role of the interpersonal relationship in the disease process of depressed women. |
Since the Theory of Women’s Development-the self-in-relation was proposed, a new perspective to inspect the issues of women’s depression had been increasingly emphasized. This study aims to explore the role of the interpersonal relationship in the illness process in women diagnosed with depression. An in-depth interview was used to explore the experience of women with major depression history. Until now, 5 women were recruited in our study. Each woman was interviewed for 1-2 times. And 4 verbatim transcribes were formed. The results showed that ‘falling in the vortex’ was the core concept emerged from the data in the women’s experience of living with depression. In the vortex, women’s perceived selves from others shaped their self-concept negatively. So they felt themselves devalued, abnormal and meaningless in their life. During the process, the interpersonal relationship was served as strength drawing the women away from the vortex, but in some cases, also engulfing them into the vortex. The finding could help health professions to understand the role of the interpersonal relationship in the illness process of depressed women and provide the support suitable for them.