Children's Needs – Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ...

How mental illness, learning disability, substance misuse anddomestic violence affect parenting capacity 79Disruption of family relationshipsParental mental illness, learning disability, substance misuse and domestic violenceplace considerable strain on relationships between spouses or intimate partners. Forexample, more than 30% of problem drinkers receiving treatment believed maritalconflict was a result of their drinking. Furthermore, it has been estimated that 80%of cases of domestic violence are alcohol related (Velleman 1993).Learning disability is also associated with domestic violence and substance misuse.Research on children living with a parent with a learning disability found that in42% of cases receiving social work services there was also evidence of domesticviolence, problem drinking or drug misuse 8 (Cleaver and Nicholson 2007).Mental illness is associated with marital breakdown because coping on a day-todaybasis with a depressed partner can be very exhausting and dispiriting (Weissmanand Paykel 1974). Moreover, the risk of marital breakdown is further increasedwhen a depressed person marries someone with a psychiatric illness, a situationwhich is not uncommon (Merikangas and Spiker 1982). When this happens, thesymptoms of depression become more severe and marital and family disruptionmore likely (Merikangas et al. 1998). The link between mental illness and maritaldiscord is highest when parents suffer from a personality disorder.The association between mental illness, learning disability or problem drinkingand domestic violence is complex. For example, not only may the psychiatricdisorder, problem drinking or drug use result in marital discord, but women maydevelop mental health problems, or turn to drugs and alcohol as a direct consequenceof domestic violence (Velleman 1993; Farmer and Owen 1995).I was drinking and there had been a lot of violence from my husband – he beatme up and caused me a miscarriage by sticking his fist up me. He also forced meinto prostitution.(Mother of three children, quoted in Cleaver et al. 2007, p.87)Alternatively, domestic violence, mental illness and problem alcohol or drug usemay be related to a prior condition (such as childhood adversities). A quarter ofparents with learning disabilities whose children were receiving social work serviceshad experienced childhood abuse 9 (Cleaver and Nicholson 2007).8The statistics provided are the result of a re-analysis of data gathered for two research studies: Cleaver andNicholson 2007 and Cleaver et al. 2007. The research did not cover children living with mentally ill parents and,consequently, such detailed information is not available.9See footnote 8.