Parenting of mothers with a serious mental illness: Differential effects of diagnosis, clinical history, and other mental health variables

This study examined the effects of mental illness on parenting in a large urban-based sample of women with serious mental illness. Seventy percent of the sample were women from ethnic minority groups, average age mid-30s; all had care responsibility for at least one minor child. Diagnostic Interview Schedule modules were administered; the women were interviewed to obtain information on parenting, clinical history, and current functioning. Diagnosis had a small but significant negative effect on parenting attitudes and behaviors, and there were race-by-diagnosis interactions. However, current symptoms mediated the effects of diagnosis and chronicity on parenting stress, and current symptomatology and community functioning partially mediated the effects of diagnosis on parenting satisfaction. Researchers-practitioners need to assess the status of mothers with mental illness rather than assuming problems or intervention needs.