Academic literature on the topic 'Stigm'

<p> Theory suggests and research provides evidence that stigma can have a negative impact on the self-concept for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Labeling theory and modified labeling theory suggest that individuals who are labeled with a socially undesirable status (e.g. mental illness) may develop negative cognitions, self-perceptions and emotions as a result of the associated stigma. However, some evidence suggests that the harmful effects of stigma on self-concept may not have as strong or an enduring of an impact as labeling theories might predict. In this dissertation, I utilize longitudinal survey data of 221 individuals with mental illness to consider the role of empowerment and defensive responses that individuals use to resist the potentially negative effects of stigma. Specifically, I examine defensive strategies, such as secrecy and social withdrawal, and empowerment-oriented responses to stigma, including community activism and righteous anger, as factors that may moderate the effect of stigma on self-concept. I found limited support of the negative effect that perceived stigma has on self-concept. While I did find some evidence that stigma is negatively associated with both self-esteem and mastery, these associations were only of modest strength. There was no finding suggesting that the stigma response items moderate the relationship between stigma and self-concept, but mediating relationships are present. Further research is needed in order to better understand how stigma resistance strategies influence the varying effects of the stigma of mental illness on self-concept.</p>

Stigma is a widely researched concept, with public stigma, courtesy stigma and self-stigma (or internalised stigma) frequently cited as issues for those experiencing mental health issues. Individuals with experiences of psychosis are some of the most stigmatised in society, and yet the consequences of stigma on outcomes in psychosis are unclear. The four studies presented in this doctoral thesis used mixed methods to examine the impacts of stigma on recovery from psychosis, and the psychological mechanisms through which these effects might occur. It addresses two areas lacking in sufficient research within the stigma literature: clarity in the relationship between experiences of stigma and internalised stigma; and the effects of stigma on outcomes in psychosis. In particular it examines the relationship between stigma and internalised stigma with two diagnoses on the psychosis spectrum: schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The study reported in Chapters 3 and 4, was a qualitative investigation based on interviews with 19 individuals who had received a diagnosis of either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The objective of the investigation was to explore how individuals processed receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and how perceived, experienced and internalised stigma influenced the participants’ self-perception, interactions and recovery feelings. Three overarching themes were identified which were negatively affected by stigma: reactions and responses; relationships; and recovery. The study reinforced the notion that stigma is a significant concern for service-users with diagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and was pervasive in all spheres of life; ultimately impacting on hopes for the future. An unexpected aspect of the qualitative interviews was the participants’ focus on the role of mental health services and experiences of treatment, particularly antipsychotic medication. As this is clearly an important aspect of the participants’ experiences of living with psychosis, this was written up separately, forming Chapter 4. Five overarching themes were identified: living with medication; reinforcing stigma; involvement in care; unmet needs; and positive aspects of care. The findings from this study indicated that whilst service-users made positive reports of aspects of both medication and clinical services; they had extensive concerns about the use of medication, and felt limited in their choice of alternatives. Moreover, service-users felt they lacked autonomy, were not involved in care decisions, and thought their contact with services lacked the ‘human touch’ and could be both invalidating and frustrating. The study presented in Chapter 5, used an epidemiological, longitudinal dataset (n=80) that formed part of independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research scheme (RP-PG-0606-1086). This study aimed to examine how stigma impacts on symptomatic and subjective recovery from psychosis, both concurrently and longitudinally. We also aimed to investigate whether self-esteem and hopelessness mediated the observed associations between stigma and outcomes. In cross sectional regression and multiple mediation analyses of the baseline data, we found that stigma predicted both symptomatic and subjective recovery, and the effects of stigma on these outcomes were mediated by hopelessness and self-esteem. When the follow-up data were examined, stigma at baseline continued to predict recovery judgements and symptoms. However, self-esteem only mediated the effect of stigma on passive social withdrawal. The study reported in Chapter 6 utilised a clinical sample of 59 service-users with a diagnosis of either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of stigma on subjective recovery from psychosis, and whether self-esteem and internalised stigma mediates the observed associations between stigmatizing experiences and outcome, thus clarifying the relationship between stigma, self-stigma and recovery. Diagnosis was a persistently significant factor in all analyses, suggesting a negative effect of the term ‘schizophrenia’ on subjective recovery perceptions. In a multiple serial mediation analysis, experiences of stigma predicated subjective recovery and this effect was mediated through internalised stigma, which consequently impaired self-esteem. Findings from these studies suggest that stigma reduces individual’s perceived ability to recover, impairs individual’s perceptions of their progress in recovery, and negatively impacts on psychosis symptoms. These effects occur predominantly through the internalisation of stigma, causing devaluation of self-image and consequently reducing self-esteem. The findings further suggest that whilst the experiences of individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are predominantly similar, ‘schizophrenia’ is an inherently negative term which affects subjective recovery perceptions even when controlling for symptoms. Finally, it is evident that help-seeking is not always helpful, and there are numerous issues with medication and mental health services that can create feelings of hopelessness and reinforce stigmatising stereotypes of severe mental illness. Overall, the findings have significant clinical implications. Internalised stigma is an important psychological mechanism in recovery, and directly links to experiences of stigma. There is a need for clinical services to work in a stigma-informed way in an effort to reduce the impact of stigma post-diagnosis, as well as the development of interventions aimed at preventing stigma from being internalised. Interventions aimed at improving self-esteem and reducing hopelessness for psychosis-spectrum service-users are needed to further reduce the effects of stigma on recovery. Moreover, there is a need for clinical services to reduce behaviours that reinforce stigma, and work collaboratively and transparently with service-users; ensuring that goals for treatment correspond between clinicians and consumers to provide a more patient-centred approach to care.

Even before 9/11, there has been a long history of attitudes and public policies that were biased against people of Middle East descent in the United States--regardless of whether or not they are Muslim. This research uses Status Characteristics Theory (SCT) and stigma theory to examine whether there is low status or stigma associated with the Muslim religion and Middle Eastern ethnicity in the United States. By doing so, the research expands upon previous studies of stigma to explore the social psychological processes involved during interactions between the stigmatized and non-stigmatized. This study used experimental data, survey data and qualitative data collected from samples of undergraduate students using designs conceptualized specifically for this research. I conducted an experiment and a Web vignette-survey using undergraduate students from a Midwestern university. The findings of the experiment showed that that European American subjects paired with the Middle Eastern female partner not wearing a hijab and the Muslim Middle Eastern female partner wearing a hijab were influenced more and held more positive perceptions of their partners than did the subjects paired with the European American female partner. In contrast, the results of the Web vignette-survey indicate that the European American target applicant is more likely to be selected for the leadership position than either of the Middle Eastern target applicants (with or without hijab). Furthermore, the results of the social distance measures indicate that knowing someone from the Middle East (e.g. previous contact with a Middle Easterner) decreased the likelihood of social distance from the Middle Eastern target with hijab and without hijab across the vignette conditions. This suggests that there might be less of a tendency for individuals who have had personal contact and interacted with people from the Middle East to take the "us versus them" perspective, which is necessary in order to carry out the process of stigmatization.

Bakgrund: Depression är en av de vanligaste psykiska sjukdomarna idag och att det är i lika grad stigmatiserat. Stigma kan kopplas till okunnighet om psykisk ohälsa. Detta gör det nästintill omöjligt för individer som lider av psykisk ohälsa, såsom depression, att kunna vara en del av samhället och yttra sina känslor utan att motta negativitet relaterat till sin sjukdom. Som ett tillägg till detta är individerna i fråga oftast ensamma, dvs de föredrar isolering än sällskapet av de som stigmatiserar dem. Detta i sin tur ger upphov till känslor av oro och hopplöshet, hämmad återhämtning och även vägran att söka hjälp och behandling. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur upplevelser av stigmatisering kommer till uttryck i blogginlägg bland unga vuxna med depression. Metod: En kvalitativ metod med hjälp av textanalys utfördes. Åtta blogginlägg sammanlagt användes för att komma fram till ett resultat. Blogginlägg granskades efter relevans av vårt syfte och studie. Resultat: Tre teman uppkom under studiens gång. Dessa är: ”Rädslan att prata om sin diagnos”, ”Depression är ett skämt” och ”Stigma från professionella”. Konklusion: Individer som upplever stigmatisering från samhället som en följd av sin psykiska sjukdom upplever ovilja till återhämtning, känslor av förtvivlan, värdelöshet och illamående som kan leda till isolering och minskade möjligheter i samhället.<br>Background: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses today and it is equally stigmatized. Stigma can be linked to ignorance of mental illness. This makes it almost  impossible for individuals suffering from mental illness, such as depression, to be a part of society and express their feelings without receiving negativity related to their illness. In addition to this, the individuals in question are usually alone, i.e. they prefer isolation rather than the company of those who stigmatize them. This in turn gives rise to feelings of anxiety and hopelessness, inhibited recovery and even refusal to seek help and treatment. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the experiences of stigmatization is expressed in blog posts among young adults with depression. Method: A qualitative study using text analysis was used. A total of eight blog posts were analysed to get the results. Blog posts were reviewed after the relevance for our purpose and study. Result: Three themes arose during the study. These are: "The fear of talking about their diagnosis", "Depression is a joke" and "Stigma from professionals". Conclusion: Individuals who experience stigmatization from society as a result of their mental illness experience reluctance to recovery, feelings of despair, worthlessness and malice that can lead to isolation and diminished opportunities in society.

Homelessness among women is an increasing phenomena. The focus of this work is to examine common experiences and explain how homeless women interpret their circumstances. The numbers and characteristics of homeless women in recent history are examined thereby establishing the group as extremely heterogeneous in nature. Erving Goffman's classic work on stigma and the levels of individual identity, is applied to the homeless condition. A number or case studies are used to further develop and explain the meaning of the homeless state to the women involved.