Hackford, Claire;
(2020)
Stigma, Concealment, Illness Perceptions and Psychosocial Difficulties in Children with Physical Health Conditions and their Parents.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
Preview |
Text
Hackford_10110447_thesis_sigs_removed.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Aims: The overall purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between physical health stigma, concealment, illness perceptions, and psychosocial difficulties in children with physical health conditions and their parents. Further objectives were to identify which of these factors predicted children’s psychosocial difficulties, and which factors predicted concealment. Method: A cross-sectional survey was completed by 61 child-parent pairs attending dermatology or urology outpatient clinics in a London paediatric hospital. Children and parents completed validated measures of stigma, concealment, illness perceptions, and children’s psychosocial difficulties. Results: Correlational analyses revealed that in children, stigma was associated with concealment and illness perceptions, both with a large effect size. Children’s psychosocial difficulties were associated with child stigma and parent stigma, both with a medium effect size, and also with illness perceptions, with a small effect size. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses found that both child and parent stigma independently predicted children’s psychosocial difficulties (a composite of emotional and peer problems). Child stigma predicted child concealment, and parent stigma predicted parent concealment. However, there was no relationship between any child and parent-rated factors. Conclusions: The stigma perceptions of both children with physical health conditions and their parents need to be taken into account in the context of understanding the child’s psychosocial difficulties, and families should be supported in making decisions about concealment. As child and parent factors were not associated with each other, wider influences on children’s stigma experiences should also be considered.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | Stigma, Concealment, Illness Perceptions and Psychosocial Difficulties in Children with Physical Health Conditions and their Parents |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10110447 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
