The concept of "benefit finding" for people at different stages of recovery from mental illness; a Japanese study

Background: Benefit finding is defined as finding benefits through the struggle with adversity. Aim: This study explored benefit finding at different stages of recovery among people with severe mental illness in Japan. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey, which contained both open-ended questions regarding benefit finding and the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS), was conducted. Of the responses received from 193 (61%) of 319 individuals with mental illness, responses about benefit finding from 94 questionnaires was analyzed using content analysis (males: 57%; females: 43%; average age: 45 years). Each response about benefit finding was classified into one of three groups according to the stages of recovery by their RAS score (i.e. low, middle or high). Results: The group with higher recovery scores provided more examples of benefit finding, although almost a quarter of examples of benefit finding were provided by the low-RAS group. Different benefit finding characteristics were found between groups of people at different stages of recovery. Conclusion: While individuals with higher recovery scores are likely to find a variety of benefits, even individuals with lower recovery scores are capable of benefit finding.