Vicarious Stigma, Resentment and Resilience in Parents of Children with Psychological disorders

Abstract

Parents of children with psychological disorders often encounter not only the challenges of caregiving but also the emotional burden of societal attitudes and judgements. This research examined vicarious stigma, resentment and resilience in parents of children with psychological disorders. In this study the participants were parents of 200 children diagnosed with different psychological morbidities, recruited from the Government Hospitals of Lahore through purposive sampling. These parents were requested to fill demographic sheet, Vicarious Stigma Scale (Corrigan, 2018), Parent Anger Scale (Del Vecchio et al., 2017) and Brief Resilience Scale (Bruce et al., 2008). The findings of the study revealed that there is significant positive association between vicarious stigma and resentment while the stigma also predicts resentment. Whereas, resentment had a significant negative association with resilience (p <.05) in the parents with psychological disorders. However, vicarious stigma verified its role as a mediating variable between resentment and resilience (x2> .05, 95%CI). This research can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the complex experiences of parents and caregivers, ultimately enhancing support and services for families. Moreover, identifying factors that promote resilience can help develop interventions to enhance parental well-being.