Parental recognition of preadolescent mental health problems: Does stigma matter?

Abstract

Rationale: Parents are one of several key gatekeepers to mental health (MH) services for adolescents with MH problems. Parental MH stigma is a significant barrier to treatment, yet little is known about how stigma may bias parental recognition of mental illness in youth. Objective: This study examines how stigma influences a critical and early stage of the help-seeking process—the recognition of MH problems in preadolescents by their parents. Method: Parents from a school-based anti-stigma intervention study were analyzed. Logistic regressions examined the association of stigma with parental recognition of MH problems in their preadolescent child (10–12 years old) and that of two preadolescent vignette characters described as having bipolar disorder and social anxiety disorder. Results: The more parents desired their preadolescent child to avoid interaction with individuals with a mental illness—that is, to be more socially distant—the less likely these parents believed their child had a MH problem, controlling for parent-reported MH symptoms and other covariates. This pattern was prominent among parents who reported high symptoms in their child. Social distance had no bearing on whether parents recognized the vignette characters as having a problem. Avoidance of individuals with a mental illness and knowledge/positive MH attitudes were not associated with problem recognition. Conclusion: Stigmatizing attitudes of parents may be detrimental when trying to understand the psychopathology of their own preadolescent children but not preadolescents outside their family. Stigma may present itself as a barrier to problem recognition because it may impose a significant personal cost on the family, thereby affecting the help-seeking process earlier than considered by previous work.

Exploring Racial Disparities in Mental Health Diagnoses and Neighborhood Disorganization Among an Urban Cohort of Children and Adolescents with Chronic Medical Conditions

“…[34][35][36][37] Parents who hold stigmatizing views of mental illness are less likely to acknowledge that their child has a mental health problem and also may attempt to protect their child from being labeled. 38 In addition, studies have documented that Black cultural values of personal strength and addressing problems within the family or through religious practices may view seeking professional help for mental health problems as a sign of weakness. [39][40][41][42][43] Several structural health system factors are known barriers to Blacks receiving behavioral health care.…”

Parental education and youth suicidal behaviours: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Higher parental education could also be indicative of a broad social and economic positive influence on the home environment, as higher education could give access to higher earnings and more affluent living (Lindeboom et al ., 2009 ). Higher education could also enable parents to better recognise problematic issues in adolescents via stronger mental health literacy and access to sources of support (Villatoro et al ., 2018 ). All of the above could potentially help promote child and adolescents' well-being and better mental health.…”

An investigation of the information provided to the parents of young people with mental health needs on an internet forum

“…Parents are instrumental in identifying their child's difficulties and deciding to seek support or professional help ( Cunningham et al, 2008 ; Van Der Gugten et al, 2016 ; Villatoro et al, 2018 ). When government agencies lack provision for CYP with mental health needs, parental participation in self-help resources increase ( Carter, 2009 ).…”