Children's beliefs about causes of childhood depression and ADHD: a study of stigmatization (original) (raw)
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Factors Associated with Attributions About Child Health Conditions and Social Distance Preference
Community Mental Health Journal, 2011
In order to better understand factors that account for the emergence and persistence of negative attitudes towards mental health problems, attributions about and stigma towards children's mental and physical illnesses were examined using National Stigma Study-Children data. Parent blame attributions were most strongly associated with attention deficit disorder, environmental causes with depression, and biology with asthma. Parent blame was more frequent for mental than physical health conditions. Child blame was associated with higher preferred social distance from the child, but no clear links were observed between social distance and attributions about genetic/biology, environment, or parent blame. Rurality was not significantly associated with attributions or social distance preference. Higher educational achievement was associated with increased endorsement of environmental stress factors and reduced odds of child blaming. The general public holds complex explanatory models of and nuanced responses to children's mental disorders that need further investigation, including effects on parents' and children's help-seeking.
How Do Children Stigmatize People With Mental Illness
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2007
A way to promote eliminating stigma surrounding mental illnesses is targeting the phenomenon in children. This study's purpose is to validate models of mental illness stigma on children in Grades 6–8. Children completed the revised Attribution Questionnaire in a pretest of a larger study on a mental health education program. Data from this study permitted testing of roles of demographics in these social cognitive models. Subsequent analyses using manifest model structural equations were mixed, but mostly showed adequate fit for multiple versions of the models. These results suggest that models of blame and dangerousness are relevant to the way 10 to 13-year-olds stigmatize mental illness. Demographics were not found to fit these models satisfactorily. Implications of these findings for stigma-change agenda are discussed.
Children's Perceptions of Their ADHD Symptoms: Positive Illusions, Attributions, and Stigma
Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 2012
This study investigated the perceptions of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) of their ADHD symptoms in terms of the positive illusory bias (PIB), their attributions for their problem behaviors, and their beliefs about whether their problem behaviors and disorder are stigmatizing. Participants were 152 9-to 14-year-old children (86 ADHD). Children with ADHD demonstrated a PIB for their ADHD symptoms; the discrepancy between their self-reports and parent reports was greater than for children without ADHD. They also viewed their self-identified most problematic behavior as more uncontrollable and stigmatizing (i.e., bothersome to others, leading to differential treatment, and embarrassing) than comparison children. Their perception that their problem behaviors and their disorder were stigmatizing was negatively associated with behavioral self-concept and self-esteem. These results suggest that school psychologists should interpret the self-reports of problem behaviors of children with ADHD with caution while being aware of the vulnerability of these children to feelings of stigma.
Development of the Children's Attributions about Psychological Problems in their Peers Scale
Child: Care, Health and Development, 2011
Background Research has shown that children's beliefs about the causes of psychological problems are related to their attitudes and reactions towards affected peers. This study describes the development of the Children's Attributions about Psychological Problems in their Peers (CAPPP) Scale, which assesses children's beliefs about the causes of an internalizing and an externalizing condition. Methods The 16 items comprising the CAPPP are derived from previous qualitative research findings. Five hundred and ninety-five young people, drawn from five different age groups spanning early childhood to late adolescence, completed a CAPPP Scale for each of two vignettes describing the behaviour of hypothetical peers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression. Results Modifications following consideration of psychometric properties and conceptual fit resulted in a 12-item scale. For both the ADHD and depression conditions, the components that emerged were 'Volition' , 'Recent Life Stress' , 'Family Factors' and 'School Factors'. Conclusions The present study represents the first field trial of the CAPPP. Results suggest that children's and adolescents' beliefs about the causes of psychological problems are multidimensional and incorporate both individual and environmental factors. * Item number 11 only included as part of the Family Factor component for internalizing conditions. Children's attributions about psychological problems 455
Psychiatric rehabilitation journal, 2015
Little is known about self-stigma experienced by young people with mental health problems, despite the fact that research has demonstrated its existence. In the present study, we sought to investigate the experiences of self-stigma in childhood and adolescence, and particularly the nature of change in self-stigma across this developmental period. Young adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or depression before their 18th birthdays were interviewed about their experiences within their peer groups during childhood and adolescence. This qualitative study involved open-ended interviews with 16 young adults aged 18-30 years. Interviews focused on the experience of stigmatization, responses to stigma, and how these changed over time. Three main themes pertaining to self-stigma emerged: (a) being different, (b) peer stigmatization and associated experiences of self-stigma, and (c) selective disclosure and a move toward greater openness. The findings also sug...
Psychiatry Research, 2010
This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the ADHD Stigma Questionnaire (ASQ) among a community sample of 301 adolescents ages 11-19 years at high (n = 192) and low risk (n = 109) for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study subjects were drawn from a cohort study assessing ADHD detection and service use. The 26-item ASQ demonstrated good internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis using random parceling supported a three factor structure with highly correlated subscales of Disclosure Concerns, Negative Self Image, and Concern with Public Attitudes, and a Schmid-Leiman analysis supported an overall stigma factor. Test-retest stability was assessed after two-weeks (n = 45) and found to be adequate for all three subscales. Construct validity was supported by relationships with related constructs, including clinical maladjustment, depression, self-esteem and emotional symptoms and the absence of a relationship with school maladjustment. Findings indicate that the ASQ has acceptable psychometric properties in a large community sample of adolescents, some of whom met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD.
2019
This study aimed to understand the contributions of active ADHD symptoms and the diagnostic label of ADHD in yielding negative attitudes and social distance ratings. Using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (n = 305), respondents were assigned to read a vignette about: (a) a typically developing child, (b) a child with active ADHD symptoms and (c) a child with active ADHD symptoms + diagnostic label. Participants were then asked to answer questions about their beliefs and feelings about the child in the vignette. The active ADHD symptom condition predicted higher levels of social distance, and this link was mediated by negative and animalistic adjective ratings, and by angry emotions felt by the participants after reading the vignettes. Our findings suggest that ADHD symptoms drive negative views and social distance and that an ADHD label may serve as a protective factor to help people overcome biases related to childhood ADHD. ADHD symptom literacy and contact with children with varying levels of ADHD symptoms may be an important target to help reduce negative attitudes.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2017
Many children and teenagers living with mental health problems experience stigma from within their peer group, yet this remains an under-researched topic in developmental science and the broader mental health literature. This paper highlights the limitations of adopting measures, concepts and theories that have exclusively emanated from the adult mental health literature. We argue that the social context of children and adolescents is critical in understanding the development and maintenance of stigma towards those with mental health problems, alongside the changing developmental needs and abilities of children and adolescents. In this article we argue that a theory proposed to explain the development of stereotypes and prejudice in childhood has potential as a framework for integrating existing research findings on mental health stigma in childhood and adolescence and providing direction for further research. The need for interventions that are grounded within the developmental science literature and that explicitly state their theory of change are identified as key research priorities for reducing stigma during childhood and adolescence. Keywords Stigma • Children • Adolescence • Mental health disorders • Developmental Inter-Group Theory