Perceived social support and mental health among shidu parents: The moderating role of stigma following the loss of an only child.

Abstract

Perceived social support is a psychosocial resource that protects the mental health of parents who have lost an only child (shidu parents), but its benefits likely vary depending on stigma-a challenge that these parents face in social contexts. We used data from 482 shidu parents (Mage = 66.63, SDage = 6.88) who reported perceived support (overall and by specific source, family, peer, and others), depressive symptoms, perceived stigma, and demographic characteristics. Linear regressions showed that family support and others support were negatively associated with depressive symptoms, consistent with the finding for overall perceived support, whereas peer support was not in the main-effect analysis. Perceived stigma consistently moderated associations with depressive symptoms across overall and source-specific support: social support was negatively associated with depressive symptoms when stigma was low, but not when stigma was high. These findings refine our understanding of social support and inform stigma-reduction to maximize its psychological benefits for shidu parents.