Stigma and anxiety and depressive symptoms in parents of sexual and gender minority youth.

Abstract

Parents of sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth play an important role in supporting their SGM child’s mental health in the face of stigma. Yet, parents of SGM youth may themselves experience stigma, including discrimination/rejection, and its emotional consequences, including vicarious stigma and shame. The present cross-sectional study leveraged a national sample of parents of SGM youth to investigate associations between parents’ stigma experiences and self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms. Further, we additionally explored sociodemographic and contextual correlates of parents’ stigma experiences. Participants included 264 parents (Mage = 46) who reported having at least one SGM child under age 30 (Mage = 18). The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual-Affiliate Stigma Measure (LGB-ASM) assessed parents’ experiences of discrimination/rejection (e.g., actual and anticipated rejection experiences due to having an SGM child), vicarious stigma (e.g., worry and concern for one’s SGM child), and shame (e.g., feeling embarrassed for having an SGM child). Parents indicated their anxiety and depressive symptoms using respective Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System—short forms. Results showed that vicarious stigma and shame, but not discrimination/rejection, were uniquely associated with parents’ increased symptoms of anxiety (vicarious stigma: β = 1.59, p < .001; shame: β = 2.15, p < .001) and depression (vicarious stigma: β = 0.90, p < .01; shame: β = 2.77, p < .001). Further, parents with more accepting religious, racial, ethnic, and/or cultural communities reported lower stigma experiences. This study advances understanding of how the psychological consequences of stigma extend beyond SGM people themselves and contribute to mental health difficulties in parents of SGM youth.