Mental Illness as a Relationship Dealbreaker

Research suggests that stigma toward mental illness extends to evaluations of people with mental disorders as potential romantic partners. However, it is not clear if mental illness functions as a relationship dealbreaker that leads to the rejection of potential mates. The current research consisted of 3 studies that examined mental illness as a relationship dealbreaker and compared its effects to previously established dealbreakers. Study 1 (N = 113) showed that people list an average of 5 mental disorders when asked to report the mental health problems that would lead them to reject a mate. Participants in Study 2 (N = 111) rated specific mental disorders as somewhat or strongly likely to lead them to reject a potential partner. Study 3 (N = 163) showed that people's willingness to engage in sexual or romantic relationships with an otherwise attractive partner significantly decreased after finding out that the person had a mental disorder. Across the studies, women tended to be more sensitive to dealbreakers than men, especially for short term/sexual relationships, and the pattern of results for mental illness was similar to previously established general dealbreakers. The results of the studies indicate that mental illness does function as a relationship dealbreaker and the conceptualization of social distance toward mental illness should be expanded to include romantic relationships.