Peer-reviewed article
Parental Stigma and “Good Parenting” in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Timothy D. Becker, Fiona Guo, Bingsong Li, Doron Amsalem, Lawrence Hsin Yang et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study interviewed 24 parents of children aged 6-17 who had depression, ADHD or substance use problems. It asked what makes a person respected as a good parent and how a child's mental health problems threaten those qualities. Parents described stigma as coming from a sense of having failed to meet parenting ideals, which led to distress and self-doubt. Support from peers and clinicians helped parents redefine or reasonably fulfill these ideals, which reduced self-stigma. The authors conclude that mental health services can help reduce parental stigma.
Key points
- Parents said they are respected for support, open communication, boundaries, role modeling and their child's well-being.
- Stigma reflects perceived parental failure to meet these ideals, leading to emotional distress and self-doubt.
- Peer and clinician support helped parents find new ways to fulfill or redefine parenting ideals.
- Reinterpreting ideals reduced self-stigma.
- Stigma is linked in prior research to lower parental well-being and greater child symptom severity.
Limitations
This is an interview study with 24 parents in the US, so it cannot show how common these experiences are or whether any support approach actually reduces stigma or improves child outcomes. The abstract does not describe how parents were recruited or how representative they were.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Parents of children with mental health problems often experience judgment about their parenting. Such stigma is associated with lower parental well-being and greater child symptom severity. Theory-driven descriptions of and interventions for parental stigma are limited. The authors aimed to investigate how parents experience and cope with stigma via the What Matters Most framework. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 24 parents (50% women, mean±SD age=39.8±8.6 years) of children ages 6-17 with depression (N=9), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (N=7), or substance use problems (N=8). Interviews explored what parents view as central to being respected as a "good parent," how a child's mental health problems threaten these qualities and shape stigma toward parents, and how parents cope with stigma and restore a positive moral identity. RESULTS: Parents reported being respected for support, open communication, boundaries, role modeling, and their child's well-being. When children have mental health problems, stigma reflects perceived parental failure to meet ideals, leading to emotional distress and self-doubt. With support from peers and clinicians, parents found new ways to fulfill or redefine these ideals, reducing self-stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Parental stigma centers on threats to identity as good parents. Mental health services can mitigate stigma by helping parents reinterpret and reasonably fulfill parenting ideals.