Parents' Self-Stigma, Youth Self-Stigma, and Youth Self-Esteem in ADHD Families
Date
2022-08
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Abstract
Research shows that youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their parents are subject to stigma from the general population (Bisset et al., 2012; Charbonnier et al., 2019; Shi et al., 2019). Exposure to stigma from the general population poses the risk of individuals internalizing that stigma in what is known as “self-stigma” (Corrigan & Rao, 2012). Self-stigma in youth with various mental illnesses and their parents is associated with various negative outcomes, such as reduced self-esteem and poor mental health in both youth and parents (Corrigan et al., 2016; Eaton et al., 2020; Kaushik et al., 2017; Trigueros et al., 2022). However, little is known about the experiences of self-stigma in ADHD; therefore, this study sought to explore self-stigma in youth with ADHD and their parents in relation to each other and to self-esteem and ADHD symptoms in youth. The final sample included 52 children between the ages of eight and 17 years (males: n = 33; females: n = 19) and their parents. The study found that youth with ADHD reported lower scores of self-stigma compared to previous studies using samples with more severe conditions. Furthermore, self-stigma in youth was not related to age or gender. Parents also reported lower ratings of self-stigma compared to previous studies; however, there was a significant relationship with gender where parents of boys reported higher self-stigma scores compared to parents of girls. When looking at the factors that predict self-stigma in youth, contrary to the hypothesis, parents’ self-stigma did not predict youth self-stigma but inattentive symptoms did. Finally, higher self-stigma in youth predicted lower self-esteem, as hypothesized. The results of this study emphasize the need for self-stigma interventions for youth with ADHD and their parents and the need understand symptom severity in self-stigma research.
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Keywords
ADHD, self-stigma, self-esteem, parents, youth, children, adolescents, internalized stigma
Citation
Jelinkova, K. (2022). Parents' self-stigma, youth self-stigma, and youth self-esteem in ADHD families (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.