Fighting self stigma

People with mental-health problems often suffer from stigma from the rest of society which can take a negative view of mental illness. In some cases people internalize this stigma - so-called 'self-stigma' - and lose their self-esteem and self-confidence. A team of researchers led by Professor Roe from the University of Haifa studied the effectiveness of a treatment called Narrative Enhancement Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which aims to give people with mental illness the necessary 'tools' to deal with self-stigma. They compared 21 people who completed the treatment with 22 who were placed on a waiting list. Those who participated in the treatment showed reduced self-stigma and an increase in their quality of life and self-esteem.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100513093731.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Young adults' attitudes to mental illness

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. has been surveying people's attitude to mental illness as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. Overall the survey found that less than half (40%) of Americans believe someone with mental illness can be as successful at work as other people. The survey paid particular attention to the opinions of young adults (18-25) as this age group is the most likely to have a serious mental illness yet are the least likely to seek treatment. In this age group 72% thought that someone with mental illness would improve if given treatment and support, however, only a third (33%) thought that they would eventually recover. Nearly two thirds of young adults who knew someone with a mental illness thought treatment would help them but only 22% thought that people were generally caring and sympathetic to people with mental illness.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/189844.php

Stereotype threat, social skills and schizophrenia

Stereotype threat is the feeling that one is the target of demeaning stereotypes and has been found to affect performance among a number of different people doing a number of different tasks. Interestingly people do not have to actually be treated in a negative way for this effect to occur, they just have to believe they are being stereotyped. People with schizophrenia are often thought to have poor social skills and a team of researchers from the University of New South Wales and the University of Queensland wondered whether this could be due to stereotype threat. They got 30 people with schizophrenia to talk to two 'confederates.' The people with schizophrenia were told that one of the confederates knew about their diagnosis while the other didn't; but in fact neither of the confederates knew that they were talking to someone with schizophrenia. Although the participants with schizophrenia did not perceive any differences in their own social behaviour those confederates who talked to someone who thought the confederates knew about their mental-health problems rated the participants' social skills as poorer.

Henry, Julie D., von Hippel, Courtney and Shapiro, Lisa - Stereotype threat contributes to social difficulties in people with schizophrenia British Journal of Clinical Psychology March 2010, 49(1), 31-41

Stigma still a barrier for depressed teenagers

Researchers in the U.S. looked into the barriers teenagers face in getting treatment for depression. They interviewed 368 teenagers with and without depression and found that social stigma and worry over how their parents would react were among the biggest barriers. Those teenagers who felt the most social stigma about their condition and worry about their parents' reaction were less likely than other youngsters to have started counselling and drug therapy six months later. Parents tended to focus on more practical issues such as paying for treatment and physically getting their children to see a healthcare professional.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE5505LV20090601?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Stigma and schizophrenia

A survey of 732 people with schizophrenia in 27 countries, carried out by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, has revealed the amount of discrimination they face in their everyday lives. The survey found that

• 47% reported discrimination in making and keeping friends
• 43% had experienced discrimination from family members
• 27% had experienced discrimination in intimate or sexual relationships
• 29% had suffered from prejudice while trying to find or keep a job
• 64% hadn't bothered to apply for work, training or education because they expected to fail or face discrimination
• 55% anticipated discrimination when seeking a close relationship
• 72% said that they felt a need to conceal their diagnosis of schizophrenia

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=news&id=116177&cn=7

Poll reveals mental-health stigma

People would find it easier to admit to being bankrupt or having a drink problem than they would admitting to having a mental-health problem. That's according to a poll of 2,300 people carried out by the Time to Change campaign which aims to reduce the stigma of mental illness. The poll found that while one in five people would find it hard to come out as gay one in three would find it hard to admit to a mental-health problem. The poll also found that 30% of people thought that someone with a mental-health problem could not do a responsible job.

You can find out more about the Time to Change campaign at

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

Stigma and schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia are often devalued and discriminated against because of their mental illness. This stigma can take the form of public stigma - negative stereotypes in the community - and self-stigma, applying stereotypes to oneself and internalizing them. Stigma has been shown to interfere with help-seeking and recovery from schizophrenia. People with mental illness expect to be rejected leading them to become secretive about their condition, or limit, or withdraw entirely from, social interaction. A study of 127 outpatients, diagnosed with schizophrenia asked them about perceived stigma, their use of secrecy and withdrawal as methods of coping, their symptoms, their feelings of confidence in coping with their condition (self-efficacy), their depression and their levels of insight. The study found that perceived stigma led to a significant increase in secrecy and withdrawal and to a loss of self-efficacy.

Kleim, Birgit ... [et al] - Perceived stigma predicts low self-efficacy and poor coping in schizophrenia Journal of Mental Health October 2008, 17(5), 482-491

Stigma, self-esteem and social support

A number of studies have demonstrated the existence of negative attitudes towards people with mental-health problems and these attitudes can have a detrimental effect on people suffering from a mental illness. There are a number of ways in which people can cope with this stigma but three of the most common ones - secrecy, education, and avoidance/withdrawal - have been shown to be ineffective. A study of 595 clients of rehabilitation centres in Belgium looked at whether social support could protect against the worst effects of stigma. The researchers found that stigma reduced self-esteem whereas peer support increased it. However, for those people who suffered from low self-esteem caused by stigmatization peer support did not have a beneficial effect.

Verhaeghe, Mieke, Bracke, Piet and Bruynooghe, Kevin - Stigmatization and self-esteem of persons in recovery from mental illness: the role of peer support International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2008, 54(3), 206-218

DoH report shows extent of stigma

Research by the Department of Health has found that there is still a considerable amount of prejudice and discrimination against people with a mental-health problem. 1 in 8 people would not want to live next door to someone with a mental illness, while nearly six out of ten people described a person with mental illness as 'someone who has to be kept in a psychiatric or mental hospital'. One third of people thought that those with mental-health problems should not have the same right to a job as everyone else. Seperate research by the mental-health charity Rethink found that 9 out of 10 people with mental-health problems had been affected by stigma and discrimination with two-thirds saying that they had stopped doing things because of other people's prejudice.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/05/09/mental-illness-stigma-alive-and-well-in-uk/2260.html

Depression and stigma down under

For people suffering from depression the stigma associated with the disease often impedes diagnosis and treatment. A survey of over 6,000 people by researchers from the Australian National University looked into personal stigma - the negative attitude a person has towards depression - and perceived stigma, which describes the stigma felt by a person with depression. People who had come into contact with depression and those who knew most about it had lower levels of personal stigma. Men, older people, those with less education, those born overseas and people in greater psychological distress all had higher levels of personal stigma. One in five people in the survey said that they would not work with someone with depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/04/21/unraveling-the-stigma-of-depression/2170.html

Stigma and help-seeking

Many people do not seek the help they need for their mental-health problems. One theory as to why this might be is that the stigma associated with mental illness puts people off looking for help. A survey of 2,782 college students in the U.S. found that perceived stigma was higher among men, older students, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and students with current mental-health problems. Perceived stigma was also higher among those whose friends and family had not used mental-health services and among those who believed that therapy or medication are not very helpful. Those who saw the most stigma in mental illness thought that they were the least likely to need help. Among those people with depression and anxiety there was no link between perceived stigma and the propensity to seek help.

Golberstein, Ezra, Eisenberg, Daniel and Gollust, Sarah E. - Perceived stigma and mental health care seeking Psychiatric Services April 2008, 59(4), 392-399