This study is aimed at assessing household management of the mentally ill.
The participants were one hundred and fifty households purposively sampled
for the study from the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. 25 households from
each of the six zones. The instrument to generate data was a validated
structured interview schedule reflecting Expressed Emotions of family
members. The procedure was using trained research assistants who hail from
the zones, to administer the person-to-person interview or conduct a focus
group discussion in the zone’s lingua franca. The multi-dimensional scaling
analysis using simple percentages had findings to show that household
members harbour significant negative emotions as a result of deeply rooted
cultural myths and economic poverty which significantly hamper family care
for the mentally ill. A model of household holistic coping strategies was
recommended.