Academic literature on the topic 'Stigma and mental health'

The label of mental illness has long been recognized as one of the most powerful of all stigmas. Public stigma, the common societal reactions to people who seek help for psychological distress, can be distinguished from self-stigma, the internalized impact of public stigma. This study examined how awareness and endorsement of public stigma may influence self-stigma. It also examined how both types of stigma are connected to attitudes and intentions to seeking counseling. Awareness and endorsement of public stigma were found to predict self-stigma. Endorsement of sympathy for a person with mental illness was especially predictive of self-stigma, while endorsement of public stigma and self-stigma were independently related to attitudes to seeking counseling. Finally, attitudes were most proximally related to intentions to seek counseling. These results suggest that different aspects of stigma play different roles in influencing attitudes to seeking mental health counseling.

The purpose of this study was to test two models of the impact of mental health stigma on both attitudes toward seeking psychological help and physical health. General self-efficacy, self-esteem, and anxiety were tested as potential mediators of these two relationships. A sample of adults ( N = 423) aged 18–72 years was surveyed using the participant pool of a large, distance learning university. Structural equation modeling results indicated that mental health stigma directly and indirectly influenced treatment attitudes and physical health. Internal self-variables mediated the relationship between mental health stigma and both study outcomes.

In contrast with growing attention given to the stigma experiences of mental health service users, the stigma literature has paid almost no attention to mental health professionals. This study focuses on experiences of associative stigma among these professionals. We investigate the link between associative stigma and three dimensions of burnout as well as job satisfaction among mental health professionals, and the link of associative stigma with self-stigma and client satisfaction among service users. Survey data from 543 professionals and 707 service users from diverse mental health services are analyzed using multilevel techniques. The results reveal that among mental health professionals associative stigma is related to more depersonalization, more emotional exhaustion, and less job satisfaction. In addition, in units in which professionals report more associative stigma, service users experience more self-stigma and less client satisfaction. The results reveal that associative stigma is related to more depersonalization, more emotional exhaustion, and less job satisfaction among mental health professionals.

Background Perinatal mental illness is a global health concern; however, many women do not get the treatment they need to recover. Some women choose not to seek professional help and get no treatment because they feel stigmatized. Online forums for various health conditions, including perinatal mental health, can be beneficial for members. Little is known about the role that online forums for perinatal mental illness play in reducing stigma and subsequent disclosure of symptoms to health care providers and treatment uptake. Objective This study aimed to examine stigma and disclosure in forums and describe any potential disadvantages of forum use. Methods An online forum for mothers was examined and 1546 messages extracted from 102 threads from the antenatal and postnatal depression section. These messages were subjected to deductive systematic thematic analysis to identify common themes regarding stigma and disclosure of symptoms and potential disadvantages of forum use. Results Two major themes were identified: stigma and negative experiences of disclosure. Stigma had 3 subthemes: internal stigma, external stigma, and treatment stigma. Many women were concerned about feeling like a “bad” or “failed” mother and worried that if they disclosed their symptoms to a health care provider they would be stigmatized. Posts in response to this frequently encouraged women to disclose their symptoms to health care providers and accept professional treatment. Forum discourse reconstructed the ideology of motherhood as compatible with perinatal mental illness, especially if the woman sought help and adhered to treatment. Many women overcame stigma and replied that they had taken advice and disclosed to a health care provider and/or taken treatment. Conclusions Forum use may increase women's disclosure to health care providers by challenging their internal and external stigma and this may strengthen professional treatment uptake and adherence. However, a few posts described negative experiences when disclosing to health care providers.