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How Children with Parents Suffering from Mental Health Distress Search for ‘Normality’ and Avoid Stigma

To be or not to be . . . is not the question

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), heidi.haug{at}hint.no

Borgunn Ytterhus

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Arve Almvik

Sør-Trøndelag University College

Using data from in-depth interviews with 20 children, this study finds that children with parents suffering from mental health distress struggle hard to present themselves as ‘normal’ and equal among their peer group. The study shows how they avoid stigma in their presentation of self in everyday life. All the children in this study, regardless of age or parents’ suffering, are active participants and impression managers in and of their own lives. The authors question whether their active responsibility for their own and their family’s well-being becomes too heavy a burden and should be moved from children’s private sphere into public arenas such as schools or social and healthcare services.

Key Words: children • everyday life • family • mental health distress • mental illness • parents • stigma

Childhood, Vol. 16, No. 4, 461-477 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0907568209343743


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