Parenthood and severe mental illness: Relationships with recovery.

Abstract

Objective 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. Methods 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 non-parents and compared mothers and fathers using chi-square, t-tests, and, where appropriate, analysis of covariance. Results Parents had a significantly higher level of trust in their psychiatric care provider than non-parents. Contrary to hypotheses, parents were less active in their treatment and preferred less information-seeking autonomy than did non-parents, 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. Conclusions and Implications for Practice 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.

Factor structure of the autonomy preference index in people with severe mental illness

“…In addition to having a severe mental illness, inclusion criteria included: willingness to be interviewed 3 times over the course of 18 months and to have 3 sessions with psychiatric provider audio-recorded; and ability to pass a short quiz on the content of the informed consent document. Consumers were excluded if they planned to change psychiatric providers during the 18-month study period (Bonfils et al, 2014). …”

“…The second sample (Bonfils et al, 2014) only asked about autonomy preferences with regard to psychiatric providers, thus the sample sizes are different for psychiatric and primary care providers. A total of 234 participants provided complete autonomy preference data with regard to their psychiatric provider.…”

Towards relational recovery: Nurses’ practices with consumers and families with dependent children in mental health inpatient units

“…Due to multiple interrelated genetic, individual, socioeconomic, family, and environmental factors, children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) can be at increased risk of developing psychosocial and mental health problems (Bonfils et al . ). These include attachment issues; academic, behavioural, and interpersonal problems (Foster et al .…”

Strategies for parenting by mothers and fathers with a mental illness

“…The way these parents develop in and value their role can also be seen in the context of a recovery process (Bonfils et al . ). From this perspective it is important to understand more about the meaning of parenting and the strategies parents can develop to deal with the challenges and vulnerabilities that a mental illness may convey.…”