The impact of the motherhood role on recovery motivation in women with severe mental illness.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the association between maternal role perceptions and subjective recovery motivation among women with severe mental illness and to explore whether these relationships differ between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 115 mothers with a schizophrenia diagnosis (n = 40) or bipolar disorder (n = 75) who were receiving services from community mental health centres were included. Maternal role perceptions and subjective recovery motivation were evaluated using the Self-Perception of Parental Role Scale (SPPR) and the Subjective Recovery Assessment Scale (SubRAS), respectively. The evaluation of psychiatric symptom severity, functional status, and cognitive insight was performed by using standardized clinical instruments, including the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP).

RESULTS

Women with BD demonstrated a higher median SubRAS score compared with those with schizophrenia (62 vs. 54). A significant positive relationship was observed between subjective recovery motivation and SPPR role satisfaction (r = 0.296), parental efficacy (r = 0.276), parental investment (r = 0.331), role balance (r = 0.240), and total SPPR score (r = 0.413) (all FDR-adjusted p < 0.05). Recovery scores were also positively associated with functioning (PSP: r = 0.463) and cognitive insight (r = 0.320), while negatively correlated with psychiatric symptom severity (BPRS: r=-0.394). Multivariable regression analyses revealed that parental investment was an independent predictor of recovery motivation (p = 0.049), with lower BPRS scores showing an association with higher recovery scores (p = 0.028).

CONCLUSION

Positive perceptions of the maternal role are associated with greater subjective recovery motivation among women with severe mental illness. These findings highlight the potential importance of incorporating parenting roles and maternal identity into recovery-oriented mental health services.