[Sense of coherence and ways of coping in the relationship with brother or sister in healthy siblings of mentally ill persons]. / Poczucie koherencji i sposoby radzenia sobie ze stresem w relacji z bratem lub siostra u zdrowego rodzenstwa osób chorych psychicznie.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to investigate sense of coherence in healthy siblings of persons suffering from schizophrenia as well as their ways of coping in the relationship with ill brother or sister. METHODS: 40 healthy brothers and sisters of persons with ICD- 10 diagnosis of F20 to F29 participated in the present study. Orientation to Life Scale (SOC- 29) was used to assess sense of coherence and Ways of Coping with Stress questionnaire (SRSS) was used to examine stress coping strategies. RESULTS: Mean global score of siblings of persons with schizophrenia was 111 points. Subjects used coping strategies focused on problem significantly more often than those focused on emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic work with healthy siblings should focus on strengthening sense of personal competence, development of personal resources and different ways of coping with stress, investigation of emotions that healthy siblings experience in the relationship with ill brother or sister as well as supporting the process of accepting changes in the relationship with the ill sibling.

[The perception of authorship in schizophrenia - the analysis of activity patterns in autonarrations]. / Postrzeganie wlasnego sprawstwa przez osoby chore na schizofrenie - analiza wzorców aktywnosci w autonarracjach.

AIM: The paper presents the study of narrations of schizophrenic patients focused on the description of activities characteristics. The aim is to answer the question of how experiencing of psychotic crisis influences the perception of their authorship. Do the inherent characteristics of the activity differ with reference to the period of life which they relate to: the time before getting sick, or after falling ill with schizophrenia? METHODS: The material consisted of narrations of 26 people with schizophrenia about their life prior to the illness and after the psychotic crisis. Linguistic categories that make up the patterns of activity have been distinguished. The frequency of the occurrence was compared in both narrations. RESULTS: Self-descriptions after falling ill are more saturated with patterns of avoidance, motivation internally localized connected with attempts of coping with the disease and externally localized action control connected with a decreased sense of authorship in relation to experiencing symptoms and reduction of social competence. CONCLUSIONS: The change of self-image after psychotic experience concerns the deeper planes of narrative, i.e. the patterns of activity hidden in connection between the content and narrative form. The research showed the decrease of the sense of agency associated with the disease experience.

[The comparison of self image before and after the psychotic crisis --the analysis of schizophrenic patients' narration]. / Porównanie obrazu siebie przed i po wystapieniu kryzysu psychotycznego poprzez analize narracji osób chorych na schizofrenie.

AIM: The aim of this study was to show the influence of schizophrenia on the individual system of meanings--the way in which the persons describe themselves and their life story. In order to achieve this goal, the analysis of narration of patients suffering from schizophrenia was conducted. METHOD: We examined 20 patients suffering from schizophrenia. We interviewed the patients with a structured narrative questionnaire. The persons described their life and themselves--in the time before and after the psychotic crisis. The interviews were analysed according to different literary methods and the knowledge of formal linguistics. The demographic variables and the clinical state of patients were also controlled. RESULTS: Persons suffering from schizophrenia used more positive attributes and less negative attributes while describing themselves before illness. They reported more positive episodes from their life, before the psychotic crisis. CONCLUSIONS: The psychotic crisis causes the dramatic decrease of self esteem and breakdown of the life story. The patients described themselves and their life in negative, pessimistic optics. The trauma of mental illness is reflected in narration by breakdown of "good story" about the person and her/his life. This change of self image concerns the persons who both cooperate in psychotherapy and are critical to illness.