Parenting and mental illness: Internalized stigma and perspectives for improving parental functioning

International audienceAfter recalling the current conditions of parents with severe mental illness (SMI), we explored whether patients who feel more internalized stigma, adopt less adequate parental functioning. One hundred parents with severe mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder) were administered the abbreviated version of the Internalized Stigma for Mental Illness Scale (IS MI), the Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire (Parent PARQ) and the Parental Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). In our sample, mental illness related internalized stigma, as well as clinical characteristics typically associated with the severity of the mental illness (type and chronicity of diagnosis, family history of SMI) were found to have strong predictive value for the quality of parental functioning. Our results broaden understanding of institutional issues regarding SMI parenting assistance services. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved