Background: Next of kin's part and participation in the life of a family member who suffers from schizophrenia has gone through big changes over time. The situation that is created greatly affects the family not only in the relationships with each other but the family member's everyday life. Schizophrenia is a severe illness that carries a negative stigma of how it manifests. This inevitably leads to negative effects on the family.

Aim: To describe next of kin's experience of having a close kin who suffers from schizophrenia.

Method: The chosen method was a literature review. The data for the study was collected through systematic searches and secondary searches. A total of eight qualitative articles were included and one article with mixed method. The data was analyzed after a model for literature reviews where the data was compiled and divided after themes.

Result: The study's result generated four themes and ten subthemes. The themes where (1) A palpable turning point in life. (2) An impact on the relationships. (3) Contact with healthcare. (4) Consequences in everyday life.

Conclusion: To have a family member that suffers from schizophrenia results in consequences in several part of the next of kin's life. The majority of these consequences are negative but the next of kin still have hopes for the future.