Parental bonding styles in schizophrenia, depressive and bipolar patients: a comparative study

BACKGROUND: Numerous bio-psychosocial factors play a role in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. In this regard, the relationship between parents and their children is significantly involved in developing the offspring mental health. However, there is no clear-cut answer as to which parental bonding style is more strongly associated with psychiatric diseases of patients. This study aimed to compare parental bonding styles in patients with schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder in Bushehr province, Iran in 2018. METHODS: In this cross-sectional comparative study, 130 patients with schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder who referred to four outpatients psychiatric centers in Bushehr were selected using quota sampling. The patients were assessed and compared in terms of parental bonding styles. Data were collected using a valid and reliable parental bonding instrument (PBI). Data were analyzed using SPSS software (ver. 22), Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests at a significant level of 0.05. RESULTS: Results showed that the optimal parental bonding style (low control, high care) in bipolar disorder (43.05%), major depression (47.7%), and schizophrenia (38.5%) was the most prevalent style of parental bonding; however, 62.30% of the above patients suffered from inefficient paternal bonding styles and 51.53% from inefficient maternal bonding styles. Furthermore, the patients’ maternal bonding styles were significantly different (p = 0.007) while their paternal bonding styles did not show any significant differences (p = 0.848). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the patients with psychiatric disorders were affected by ineffective parenting styles. The results also confirmed that despite the several bio-psycho-social factors involved in the development of psychiatric disorders, the crucial roles of parents, especially mothers, should not be ignored. It was further suggested that parents and parental bonding were important and fundamental factors for mental health promotion. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-021-03177-3.