|
Parental Mental Illness
I. Introduction
Families are the principal influence on development in the first years of life, so the mental health of
parents is an issue that affects every child in California. The most common mental health concerns
facing parents involve stress and anxiety. These needs can be addressed through public health
messages that de-stigmatize mental illness and through the availability of private and publicly
subsidized counseling and social work services. Further along the cost and service intensity spectrum
are parents who suffer from depression or panic disorder. In the United States in any one year,
approximately 13% of adults of reproductive age suffer from depression, and another 2% suffer from
panic disorder (Kessler et al. 1994). Clearly, moderate mental illnesses affect large numbers of
families and children. Mothers and fathers of children under age 3 are particularly at risk, with rates
of depression in these parents estimated at 12-19% (Lyons-Ruth et al., in press; O’Hara 1995; Areias
et al. 1996). Severe mental illnesses, including manic-depressive disorder and schizophrenia, are less
common, occurring in approximately 2% of the population, but produce greater impairments in
parenting than do other mental illnesses. Severely mentally ill parents are at risk for homelessness and
substance abuse, further jeopardizing their parenting capacities. While the number of parents with
major mental illnesses is small, their service needs, and the costs of failing to address those needs, are
substantial.
| 
