Abstract
This study examined the prevalence of parenthood in a community-based sample of first-admission patients with DSM-IV diagnoses of Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Disorder with psychotic features and Major Depressive Disorder with psychosis. A total of 130 (28.7%) of 453 patients were parents at the time of first admission. Women were twice as likely as men to be parents in all diagnostic groups. Patients with mood disorder with psychosis were twice as likely to be parents as those with Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder. Substance Use Disorder was a common comorbidity among fathers and to a somewhat lesser extent among mothers as well. At the time of admission, over three-quarters of mothers were living with their children, as were half or more of the fathers with mood disorder. Most continued to live with their children after discharge. Almost 40% of mothers with mood disorders were living as single parents both before and after admission. Almost three-quarters of the children were under 16 years of age. Over 40% of mothers in all diagnostic categories had at least one child under 5 years of age. About 20% of mothers in all 3 diagnoses experienced the onset of psychosis within 6 months of childbirth. Over half of these experienced psychotic symptoms related to the child or had neglected the child prior to admission. Our findings contrast with earlier studies from more chronic patient samples in documenting that first-admission patients with psychosis are generally intimately involved in their children's lives both before and after admission. Despite the fact that over three-quarters of these parents were still in treatment at 6-month follow-up, there was virtually no evidence that any form of educational or family-oriented treatment was offered to these parents. These results, coupled with earlier reports of highly disrupted family lives and serious adverse outcomes among the children of chronically ill parents, underscore the need for early family intervention programs. In addition, there is a need for systematic research to identify effective treatment interventions for this population.