Characterization of Courtesy Stigma Perceived by Parents of Overweight Children with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A child's obesity is generally perceived by the public to be under the control of the child's parents. While the health consequences of childhood obesity are well understood, less is known about psychological and social effects of having an obese child on parents. We set out to characterize stigma and courtesy stigma experiences surrounding obesity among children with Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a multisystem genetic disorder, and their parents.

Methods

Twenty-eight parents of children with BBS participated in semi-structured interviews informed by social stigmatization theory, which describes courtesy stigma as parental perception of stigmatization by association with a stigmatized child. Parents were asked to describe such experiences.

Results

Parents of

SUBMITTER: Hamlington B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4608820 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature