Women and Mental Illness

[Name of the institute]Introduction

Current data suggest that approximately one-half of all women with serious mental illness are mothers. Though relatively few children live with parents who are psychotic, many parents suffer from persistent problems such as anxiety disorder, chronic depression, bipolar disorder, or personality disorder. Short-term depression is the most frequently found mental illness (Gopsert, 2004).

Women with Anxiety Disorder

Research on mother-child interactions among mothers with anxiety disorders suggests a tendency for these mothers to see pervasive catastrophe in their world and overprotect their children. This is understandable, as the role of anxiety is a signal of danger; however, the problem with anxiety disorder is that everyday life is experienced by the anxious person as dangerous (Brockington, 1996).

Studies examining anxious mothers and their interactions with their children found that anxious mothers were more apt to view relatively benign events as catastrophes than mothers who were not anxious. Other studies demonstrated that anxious mothers use certain techniques with their children to keep them physically close, such as such as guilt to control their behavior, in addition to possessiveness, low expressions of affection, and overall poor communication skills. Furthermore, anxious mothers are often intrusive and interfering with the child's ability to engage in confidence-building behaviours that develop independence and autonomy. These observational studies are supported by recent, large-scale studies that have found that a child whose parent has a panic disorder, in which the parent experiences episodes of extreme fear, is significantly more likely to develop separation anxiety in childhood. Furthermore, separation anxiety disorder in children was found to be a major antecedent disorder for the development of panic disorder and a wide range of other psychopathological outcomes in adulthood (Biederman, 2007).

Women with Depression

Research on mother-child interactions among mothers with depression suggests these mothers differ in their expression of both positive and negative emotion, cognitive processing, and capacity to engage interpersonally. Studies that have examined the impact of depressive symptoms on mothers' behavior when observing depressed women with their children indicate that these mothers demonstrate less positive emotion and are less enthusiastic. They also are less affectionate and do not praise their children as much as well mothers. Other studies have suggested that mothers with depression express greater levels of hostility, exhibit less contingent responses, and show increased expression of sadness and irritability than well mothers. The depressed affect in mothers may influence decreasing expressions of anger by other family members, including children (Abosh, 1996).

Depressed women also can be overly critical of their children. Even women who are not depressed but have had a history of depression are more negative and angry with their children than are other women. The depressed mother's hostility and criticism can leave her child feeling rejected and insecure. These mothers also tend to withdraw from confrontation and conflict with children rather than engage in negotiation. Similarly, depressed women also seem internally preoccupied when they are with their children. They are not really listening to what their children are saying or doing, as they are lost ...