Age and Physical Health as Predictors of Family Contact among Adults with Severe Psychiatric Illness

We assessed the association of frequency of family contact with age and physical health for a sample of adults with severe
psychiatric illness (N = 171). This cross-sectional, observational study measured frequency of face-to-face and telephone contact with family members;
satisfaction with family relations; and severity of participants’ chronic or permanent physical health conditions. In this
sample of adults with severe psychiatric illness, having a physical health condition and advancing age correlated negatively
with frequency of face-to-face contact with family members. However, a hierarchical regression analysis controlling for residence
in a family member’s home, and participants’ ratings of satisfaction with family relations, showed that the combination of
being older and having more severe health conditions was associated with a more frequent rate of family contact than would
be expected based on age or physical health considered alone. Because almost all older participants in this heterogeneous
sample had serious physical health conditions, as well as frequent telephone and face-to-face contact with their family members,
we recommend the recruitment of family members as collaborators in illness management interventions for aging and mid-life
adults with psychiatric illness.