ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
A Qualitative Study on Parents’ Illness Perceptions and Psychosomatic Experiences of Adolescent Patients with Emotional Disorders Caused by School Bullying
Xiaofang Lin 1
Lili Pan 1
Lamei Yu 1
Cheng Hang 1
Yinghui Li 2
1. Huai'an No.3 People's Hospital, Huian, China
2. Huai'an No.3 People's Hospital, Huai'an No.3 People's Hospital, Huian, China
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Abstract
Objective: To gain an in-depth understanding of the cognition and psychosomatic experiences of parents whose adolescent children have developed emotional disorders due to school bullying. Methods: This qualitative study employed purposive sampling to select 14 parents of adolescent patients with emotional disorders caused by school bullying, who were treated at Huai'an Mental Health Center from August 2023 to February 2024. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the interview data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step analysis method. Results: Four themes were extracted regarding parents' cognition and psychosomatic experiences: insufficient understanding of the disease, various negative psychological experiences, decline in social functioning and quality of life, and a strong desire for support and help from all sectors of society. Conclusion: Parents generally lack knowledge about emotional disorders resulting from school bullying and have cognitive misunderstandings. They experience severe negative psychosomatic symptoms. Medical staff should pay close attention to parents' cognitive status and their adverse psychosomatic experiences, helping them restore good social functioning and quality of life. Establishing a comprehensive management and support system for adolescent patients with emotional disorders caused by school bullying can promote early recovery from psychological distress, restore mental peace, and facilitate a full return to their roles.
Summary
Keywords
adolescents, Cognition, Emotional disorders, Parents, psychosomatic experience, qualitative research, school bullying
Received
09 August 2025
Accepted
04 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Lin, Pan, Yu, Hang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Cheng Hang; Yinghui Li
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