The effect of internalized stigma level on marital adjustment and family processes in married women with bipolar disorder

This is a descriptive study that aims at determining the effect of internalized stigma level on marital adjustment and its relation to family processes in married women with bipolar disorder. The target population included married women with bipolar disorder who visited a psychiatric hospital in Kayseri between January and June 2018. 200 patients who agreed to participate in the study were included. As data collection tools, "Biographical Data Form", "Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI)", "Marital Adjustment Scale (MAS)", "Family Assessment Scale (FAS)" were used. Collected data was analyzed by calculating mean and conducting Shapiro Wilk, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, Allpairwise and Spearman's correlation tests on SPSS Statistics Package Version 24.0 for Windows. The total scores of the patients was 49.20±16.85 on ISMI, and 23.57±13.42 on MAS. Total scores on all subscales of FAS was over 2. It was found that there was a significant moderate negative correlation between total ISMI scores and MAS and that there was a significant weak negative correlation between total ISMI scores and FAS subscales (p<0.05). The findings indicated a medium-level internalized stigma in married women with bipolar disorder and showed that these women have bad marital adjustment and unhealthy family functions. The findings also revealed that marital adjustment deteriorated and family functions were negatively affected as the level of internalized stigma increased. Women who do not work, had arranged marriage, gave birth to four or more children and adopted irregular take of medicine had higher levels of internalized stigma, bad marital adjustment and unhealthy family functions. It is of paramount importance that the internalized stigma levels are determined in order to increase marital adjustment and facilitate healthier family functions in married women with bipolar disorder. Interventions should be planned to reduce internalized stigma levels with the participation of both patients and their family members in the treatment process. Keywords: Family Process, Bipolar Disorder, Marital Adjustment, Internalized Stigma, Psychiatric Nursing