Parental Perceptions of Mental Health Disorders, and the Effect on Their Children

Abstract

Could parental perceptions of mental health disorders affect the mental health of their own children? There has been research on the importance of a strong parent-child relationship for child development, but very little has been done to identify other possible factors. The current literature identifies parent child arguments, parent mental health disorders, and parent-child closeness as factors in poor child mental health. This paper will focus on the children’s awareness of their parents’ perception of people with mental health disorders. This was done by conducting an online survey over a series of weeks. The results show a correlation between a parent’s poor attitudes towards mental health, and the poor mental health of their own children.