Mental Illness - Can It Be a Deal Breaker?

Overwhelming majority of people claim mental disorder can’t prevent individuals from falling in love. In a poll, conducted between 9/22/14 and 1/16/15, Meetville.com (dating app to find the right person) asked 76,107 people to answer the following question: “Would you date someone whose parent had a mental disorder?”

People from all over the world took part in the poll: from the USA - 88%, from Canada 2%, from Britain - 4%, Australia – 3% and other countries – 3%.

Having a parent with any kind of health problems, especially a mental disorder, can be difficult at times. Joanne Nicholson, Ph.D, a psychologist who directs the Child and Family Research Core of the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mental Health Services Research, says: “When you’re living with any kind of chronic or severe illness, like mental illness, diabetes or cancer, there are times when your functioning will be compromised by that illness.”

Though many people don’t care much about mental health of their partner’s family members, scientists think that living in a family where someone has a mental health problems can be risky. According to the article by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “Mental illnesses in parents represent a risk for children in the family. These children have a higher risk for developing mental illnesses than other children. When both parents are mentally ill, the chance is even greater that the child might become mentally ill. The risk is particularly strong when a parent has one or more of the following: Bipolar Disorder, an anxiety disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, alcoholism or other drug abuse, or depression. Risk can be inherited from parents, through the genes.”

Alex Cusper, Meetville service analyst, states: “Mental illness is a constant struggle for all family, no matter who is ill, your child, partner or parent. The question individual should ask themselves before starting a relationship is “Am I ready for this?” as it can be very hard.”

Meetville, a leading mobile dating service, regularly conducts research among its users. Millions of people from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia answer hundreds of questions every month. You can find the results of the poll here. If you are interested in research on a particular topic, please contact us. Any reprint of the material should be followed by clickable links to the survey.