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The chronically mentally ill as parents: An empirical analysis of parenthood and patterns of child care
Abstract
Current social policy that places the locus of care for the chronically mentally ill in the community offers increased opportunities for parenthood to the chronically mentally ill. However, parenthood and patterns of child care are largely unstudied. A sample of 204 patients in the Ohio state system of care and 409 family members is used to empirically examine biological and social parenthood among the chronically mentally ill and the living and care arrangements for their children. Additionally, "double" and "hidden" aspects of family burden associated with child care are explored. The results indicate that although fifty-two percent of the patients had never been married, fifty-seven percent have a total of 260 minor and adult children. Race and gender are associated with both social and biological parenthood. Sixty-nine percent of the mentally ill females and 46 percent of the males have children. Females have an average of 1.7 children and males.89 children. Seventy-five percent of black females, 63 percent of white females, and 54 percent of black males have children with white males least likely to be parents (38 percent). Whites are more involved with minor children. Overall, there is more patient involvement with sons and younger children. Child care was stable over the course of a year for 75 percent of the children and largely distributed among the well parents, aunts and grandmothers. In the absence of parental involvement, maternal relatives care for minor children. No paternal relatives were involved in child care when the father was the mentally ill parent. When family members are engaged in caregivng to a patient with minor children, they tend to be also involved in child care, thus assuming a double "family burden." When the relationship between the well and ill parent ends, the well parents tend to disengage from patient care but assume the "hidden burden" of total responsibility for minor children.
Subject Area
Sociology|Individual & family studies|Clinical psychology
Recommended Citation
Gamache, Gail R, "The chronically mentally ill as parents: An empirical analysis of parenthood and patterns of child care" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9316649.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9316649