A Hierarchy of Stigma Associated with Mental Disorders.

DISCUSSION: Mental illness-related stigma imposes costs on society in the form of productivity losses and increased rates of dependency. Reducing these costs requires an understanding of the negative stereotypes that are the source of stigma, and an appreciation of differences in the nature and intensity of stigma associated with different mental disorders. Limitations of the study include: lack of generalizability of the results; terminology which may have generated negative associations for some survey items; possibility of missing variables or data measured with error. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES: The findings with respect to familiarity underscore the importance of inclusive policies to combat mental illness-related stigma. Anti-stigma policies must, however, account for differences in attitudes toward different diagnoses of mental illness. Strategies that may be effective in reducing stigma for some disorders may be counterproductive for others. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Many social distance studies rely on non-random samples, limiting generalizability of the results. Future research may be able to exploit web-based survey methods to obtain larger, more representative samples. Studies should include multiple diagnoses of mental/behavior disorders, instead of a single category of mental illness, and explore the ways in which familiarity affects intensity of stigma for different mental disorders. PMID: 32621724 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics - Category: Psychiatry Tags: J Ment Health Policy Econ Source Type: research