Parenthood and severe mental illness: relationships with recovery

Parenting is an important life domain for many people, but little research examines the parenting experience and its role in recovery for those with a severe mental illness. The current study provides preliminary evidence of how these concepts are related in a sample of individuals living with severe mental illness attending a community mental health center. We also explored potential differences between mothers and fathers, which could help better tailor services to meet the needs of parents with severe mental illness.

Data were obtained during baseline interviews for a study testing an intervention designed to increase shared decision making in psychiatric treatment. Participants (N = 167) were administered measures of patient activation, recovery, autonomy preference, hope, and trust in providers. We compared parents and nonparents and compared mothers and fathers using chi-square tests, t tests, and, when appropriate, analysis of covariance.

Parents had a significantly higher level of trust in their psychiatric care provider than nonparents. Contrary to hypotheses, parents were less active in their treatment and preferred less information-seeking autonomy than did nonparents, but did not differ on other recovery-related indices. No differences on recovery-related indices were detected between mothers and fathers. Secondary analyses revealed parents with minor children had more hope than parents of older children.

Although parents may have higher levels of trust in their physicians, our preliminary findings suggest that parents with severe mental illness may benefit from increased efforts to help them be more active and interested in information about their illnesses.