Discrimination, Vicarious Stigma, and Shame Moderate Associations Between Parenting Behaviors and Youth Anxiety Symptoms in Parents of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth

• In Event: Parenting and Adolescents' Social Identities

Abstract

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth experience markedly increased anxiety symptoms compared to non-SGM youth. Meta-analyses in presumably non-SGM samples show that parenting behaviors of firm control (i.e., excessive management of child’s behavior) and psychological control (i.e., intrusive and manipulative attempts to control child’s emotions) are associated with increased offspring anxiety (Chyung et al., 2021; Pinquart et al, 2017). Parents of SGM youth may also experience unique parenting stressors such as affiliate stigma (i.e., discrimination, vicarious stigma, and shame) which might compromise their ability to effectively support their SGM offspring and contribute to SGM youth anxiety. Testing interaction effects can help to understand the potential synergistic effect of SGM-specific and general parenting behaviors on offspring anxiety and highlight families most in need of support. In this study, we sought to examine whether parents’ experience of affiliate stigma may moderate associations between parents’ self-reported parenting behaviors and SGM offspring anxiety symptoms.
We recruited 264 parents (Mage =46; IQR=40-51) with at least one SGM youth offspring (Mage =18; IQR=15-22) for an online survey assessing the parent-offspring relationship and mental health. The LGB-Affiliate Stigma Measure (LGB-ASM) assessed affiliate stigma across three subscales of discrimination, vicarious stigma (i.e., worry for their child), and shame related to offspring SGM identity. The Child’s Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI-30) was adapted to assess parent reports of their own behaviors across two subscales assessing firm control and psychological control. Parents reported offspring anxiety symptoms in the past 6 months. In a first step, we used multivariable linear regression models to assess associations among affiliate stigma, parenting behaviors, and offspring anxiety. In a second step, we examined interactions between each affiliate stigma subscale and parenting behavior subscale, and significant interactions were probed.
In the main effects model, only vicarious stigma was significantly associated with increased offspring anxiety symptoms (β = .31, p < 0.001). There were significant interactions between each of the affiliate stigma measures and psychological control. Higher psychological control was associated with reduced offspring anxiety among parents with lower, but not higher, levels of discrimination (β = -.10, p = .003), vicarious stigma (β = -.07, p = .01), and shame (β = -.10, p = .005). There were also significant interactions between discrimination and shame and firm control, such that higher firm control was associated with greater offspring anxiety in parents with higher, but not lower, levels of discrimination (β = .08, p = .007) and shame (β = .10, p < 0.001).
The results suggest that experiences unique to parents of SGM offspring can interact with their general parenting behaviors and contribute to offspring anxiety. Reducing parents’ experiences of discrimination, vicarious stigma, and shame related to their SGM offspring may buffer against the effects of negative parenting behaviors in SGM offspring. This highlights the need for interventions that both reduce affiliate stigma and promote positive general parenting behaviors. Future research directions include longitudinal studies to test the causality of these findings as well as studies involving both parents and SGM offspring.

Authors

• Alexandra Paige Argiros, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Lea Rose Dougherty, University of Maryland, College Park

• John Pachankis, Yale University

• Kirsty A Clark, Vanderbilt University