Investigating stigma as stress in social interactions of parents

Abstract

ABSTRACT. A new approach to the study of stigma was introduced and applied in an exploratory study designed to investigate the parental experience of stigma within the theoretical framework of the stress process. Interviews were conducted with 131 mothers and fathers of mentally retarded children in three age cohorts. Parentperceived stress attributed to social attitudes was measured on a 5‐point, Liken‐type scale. Three deviating characteristics of the child were identified as ‘stressors’. ‘Noticeability’ of the child's speech and behaviour, and also behaviour management problems were found to be significantly associated with parental stress. No association was found between ‘noticeability’ of the child's appearance and parental stress. Distressing reactions of others, such as staring, displaying discomfort, inappropriately ignoring and drawing attention to the child were also identified as stressors. Multiple regression analysis showed that these two sets of variables accounted for 57% of the variance in explaining parental stress. The concept of stigma as stress was assessed as offering a promising direction for further research.

Is the Appearance of Children with Down Syndrome Associated with Their Development and Social Functioning?

“…In contrast, Baxter (1989) found no relationship between parental ratings of the 'noticeability' of their disabled child's appearance and their assessment of the amount of stress they experienced as a result of others' attitudes toward the child. She did find associations between this measure of stress and the 'noticeability' of poor speech and behaviour problems.…”

Does type of disability make a difference in affiliate stigma among family caregivers of individuals with autism, intellectual disability or physical disability?

“…These studies found stigma to be associated with negative outcomes, such as parental stress (Baxter & Cummins 1992;Shin et al 2006), burden (Green 2004(Green , 2007Mak & Cheung 2008) and decreased quality of life (Chou et al 2009). For example, in the fields of both PD (Green 2003) and ID (Shin et al 2006) parental distress has been found to be associated with the burden of caring for the child, and especially with the perception of negative public attitudes towards the child with the disability, including public reactions of ignoring the child, staring at him or her and feeling uncomfortable when the child is present (Baxter 1989).…”

“…For example, in the fields of both PD (Green ) and ID (Shin et al . ) parental distress has been found to be associated with the burden of caring for the child, and especially with the perception of negative public attitudes towards the child with the disability, including public reactions of ignoring the child, staring at him or her and feeling uncomfortable when the child is present (Baxter ).…”

The Role of Oxytocin and Psychosocial Factors in Online Social Networking in Times of Emotional Distress

“…Here, levels of depression were positively associated with levels of perceived stigma, as they have been in several other studies (Baxter, 1989;Coffey et al, 1996;Devins et al, 1994;Hermann et al, 1990;Mansouri & Dowell, 1989). This positive association has been found among leg amputees (Rybarczyk et al, 1995), HIV/AIDSpatients (Crandall& Coleman, 1992), family caregivers of HIVinfected women (Demi et al, 1997), and parents of children with mental disabilities (Baxter, 1989). Indeed, in the present study, regardless of whether the messages were public or private, with an offer of involvement or not, attitude towards help remained unchanged in those experiencing high levels of perceived stigma, with scores falling near in the middle of the scale.…”