Parental Recognition, Response and Management of Bullying Involving Adolescents with Mental Illness

Abstract

Background: Adolescents with mental illness in Bangladesh remain highly vulnerable to bullying, yet the ways parents recognize, interpret and respond to these experiences are poorly understood. Social stigma, limited mental health awareness and inadequate institutional support further complicate how families navigate such incidents. Parents’ perspectives in Bangladesh remain underexplored despite high victimization among adolescents with psychosocial challenges, shaped by cultural and systemic barriers. Aim: To explore parental perceptions and experiences in recognizing, responding to and managing bullying involving adolescents with mental illness. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used to capture parent’s lived experiences. Purposive sampling identified twelve parents of adolescents with diagnosed mental illness from a mental health hospital and a mental health day care centre who were living in community settings. Face-to-face, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach (2006), as applied and extended by Naeem et al. (2023). Results: Parents recognized bullying through child disclosure, behavioral or emotional changes or community reports, sometimes with delayed awareness. Disclosure triggered intense distress, including exhaustion, guilt, helplessness and stigma-related pain. To manage the situation, parents used coping strategies such as adjusting environments, seeking professional and social support, advocating in schools and drawing on spiritual practices. Ongoing stress sometimes strained parent-child relationships, resulting in conflict and mutual blame. Community and institutional stigma, including social exclusion and inadequate school responses, further challenged their efforts. Overall, bullying disrupted family functioning, though parents showed resilience and adaptive strategies to protect their children. Conclusion: Parents of adolescents with mental illness in Bangladesh face significant emotional, social and practical challenges in addressing bullying. Their responses are shaped by stigma, limited institutional support and socio-cultural pressures. These findings highlight the need for structured anti-bullying policies, accessible mental health services and greater community awareness in Bangladesh. Keywords: Bullying, Adolescents with mental illness, Parental recognition, Stigma, Bangladesh, Qualitative descriptive study, Thematic analysis.