The Impact of Affiliate Stigma on the Psychological Well‐Being of Mothers of Children with Specific Learning Disabilities in India: The Mediating Role of Subjective Burden

Abstract

The findings call for developing targeted interventions to address affiliate stigma and positive appraisal of the caregiving situation, with the goal of improving the psychological well-being of mothers of children with SLD.

Affiliate stigma, perceived social support and perceived stress in caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder: A multiple mediation study

“…This study explored whether the relationship between affiliate stigma and perceived stress in caregivers of children with ASD might occur indirectly via multiple types of social support. Results resonate with other recent studies involving caregivers of children with ASD, in which affiliate stigma positively, and perceived social support negatively, predicted psychological distress (Banga et al, 2017;Dalky et al, 2017;dosReis et al, 2012;Hinshaw & Stier, 2008;Young et al, 2016). In the current study, it was lower perceived support from family, not friends or significant others, that predicted greater perceived stress.…”

“…To date, research has tended to focus on the direct relationship between stigma and caregivers' psychosocial health, with very few studies, and only one measuring affiliate stigma, assessing indirect (or mediation) effects. Indeed, in a recent study involving caregivers of children with DD, including ASD, higher levels of subjective burden partially mediated the relationship between greater affiliate stigma and poorer psychological wellbeing (Banga et al, 2017). Other studies, including those with caregivers, found the relationship between increased stigma and greater psychological distress occurred indirectly via lower social support.…”

“…This is particularly true of affiliate, or self, stigma, which describes the process of internalising, and coming to be believe, criticism from others (Mak and Cheung, 2008). A plethora of cross sectional research has found psychological outcomes such as depression and anxiety, and most recently perceived stress, to be elevated among self-stigmatising caregivers (Banga et al, 2017;Dalky et al, 2017;Young et al, 2016;Kwok et al, 2014;Mikami et al, 2015). Themes of psychological distress are also common in qualitative research exploring the psychological consequences of caregiving related stigma (Broady et al, 2017;Eaton et al, 2016).…”

Associations Between Perception of Parental Behavior and “Person Picking an Apple From a Tree” Drawings Among Children With and Without Special Educational Needs (SEN)

“…Since children with SEN have cognitive and/or emotional-behavioral problems, and/or impaired verbal and non-verbal information processing abilities, we may speculate that the PPAT drawing serves as a channel to process/express parental hostility, neglect, or rejection. Children with SEN have an exceptional and cardinal need for family connectedness and support because they struggle with negative developmental outcomes ( Cen and Aytac, 2017 ), and suffer from affiliate stigma ( Banga and Ghosh, 2017 ). In such cases, they would be strongly affected by parental hostility, neglect, and rejection.…”

“…The second contribution of this study is that it revealed associations between perceptions of father and PPAT drawings solely among children with SEN. Empirical and clinical research show that parenting children with SEN is much more complex because the child’s special needs are a source of parental stress ( Bonifacci et al, 2016 ) and a subjective burden ( Banga and Ghosh, 2017 ). Since mothers are the primary caregivers in most families, they assist children with SEN with their homework as a daily activity, which may be potentially stressful for mothers and children alike ( Bonifacci et al, 2016 ).…”