Background: Stress and coping during the lockdown in families with mentally ill members have not yet been described . Aim of the study: First findings on this issue are to be gained in order to derive questions for further research . Material and methods: Narrative interviews were carried out on a convenient sample of healthy families (n = 4), families with mentally ill children (n = 12) and families with mentally ill parents (n = 3). The quantifying evaluation of the in vivo codes assigned by two raters for the categories “ problems ” and “ coping ” was carried out with the help of numerical ratios and detailed analyses of the codes that differentiate between the families .

Results: The lockdown resulted in a large number of problems in all families . While in families with mentally ill children the restrictions were the biggest problem, families with mentally ill parents reported mainly about a lack of support . Families with sick members more often reported about risky coping patterns, in particular rumination and denial, and less often about protective coping, especially the mobilization of social support . Conclusion: Both risk groups require targeted interventions that focus in particular on adaptive parenting behavior and mobilization strategies.