RESEARCH WEEKLY: Relationships, loneliness, and sexual health among people with SMI
By Shanti Silver

(February 14, 2024) Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at Treatment Advocacy Center! To celebrate Valentine’s Day, this week’s research weekly will highlight findings from three recent articles on romantic relationships, sexual health, and loneliness among people with serious mental illness.

The impact of loneliness on people with serious mental illness

One recent review of the literature found that people with serious mental illness experience high levels of isolation and loneliness, which are associated with a worse quality of life and poorer recovery. This review found that internalized stigma, unemployment, a lack of financial resources, repeated hospital admissions, and living in a group home were all factors that were associated with loneliness and low quality of life among people with serious mental illness. However, this review also found that interventions targeted at improving loneliness have been shown to increase the size of social networks; reduce internalized stigma and feelings of loneliness; and improve social functioning skills and quality of life for people with serious mental illness.

A novel intervention to improve romantic functioning among young men with psychotic disorders

While romantic loneliness has been associated with a worse quality of life and poor recovery there are few interventions for people with severe mental illness that improve romantic relationships specifically. This is important because people with severe mental illness face unique challenges with developing and maintaining romantic relationships including stigma, medication side-effects, and social-cognitive deficits. However, people with severe mental illness often desire romantic relationships and request assistance from clinicians in improving this area of their life. Accordingly, a group of researchers developed a group intervention for young men with first-episode psychosis to support them in navigating dating and romantic relationships. Results from the intervention
suggest that the intervention helped participants to feel more prepared for dating, decreased feelings of stigma, and overall increased romantic functioning among young men with psychosis.

The prevalence of sexual health services among outpatient mental health programs in New York state

When people with serious mental illness do begin to engage in romantic or sexual relationships, they may also need resources to make informed decisions about their sexual health. However, little is known about how often outpatient mental health programs provide people with severe mental illness with sexual health services. In a recent publication researchers surveyed directors of outpatient mental health programs in New York state to inquire about the sexual health services offered to clients. Out of 132 programs that responded to the survey, most (82%) reported that sexual health services were very important for their clients. However, 52% also reported that staff needed training in delivering sexual health services. When asked about sexual health services that they provide, either directly or through referrals, a large majority of programs reported providing sexual health education (89%), STI screenings (75%), and distributing condoms (71%). This survey also
found that outpatient programs in urban areas were better equipped to provide sexual health services than programs in rural areas.

References

Caple, V., et al. (June 2023). An exploration of loneliness experienced by people living with mental illness and the impact on their recovery journey: An integrative review.

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Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

Cloutier, B., et al. (July 2023). Improving Romantic Relationship Functioning Among Young Men With First-Episode Psychosis: Impact of a Novel Group Intervention.

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Behavior Modification.

McKinnon, K., et al. (May 2023). Sexual health services in urban, suburban, and rural outpatient mental healthcare settings in New York: findings from a survey of practices and gaps.

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Sexual Health.

Shanti Silver is a Research Associate at Treatment Advocacy Center.

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Research Weekly is a summary published as a public service of TAC and does not necessarily reflect the findings or positions of the organization or its staff. Full access to research summarized may require a fee or paid subscription to the publications.

TAC does not solicit or accept funds from pharmaceutical companies.


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