Is Mental Illness a Deal Breaker for Romantic Relationships?

This video attempts to answer the question: Is mental illness a deal breaker for romantic relationships? This is looking at the idea that individuals with mental disorders are rejected more often as potential romantic partners. We’ll see a lot of research on this topic. Most of the research focuses on how people are attracted to desirable traits as opposed to how they may be repulsed to undesirable traits. I examine a study that looked at traditional deal breakers (age, weight, criminal record, etc.) And compared them to mental health related deal breaker (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychopathy, etc.)


Boysen, G. A., Morton, J., & Nieves, T. (2018, November 29). Mental Illness as a Relationship Dealbreaker. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication.http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sah0000157