Stigma

Question 1

Stigma

Answer 1

A mark of disgrace that sets a person apart
When a person is labelled by their illness they are seen as part of a stereotyped group
Negative attributions create prejudice which leads to negative actions & discrimination

Question 2

Goffman (1968); spoiled identity

Answer 2

Internalised feelings about self (private)

Involving negative perceptions of others (public)

Question 3

Link et al (1999); public stigma

Self stigma

Answer 3

Prejudice & discrimination in gen pop, measured by social distance scales

Harm occurring as a result of internalisation of prejudice, measured by perceptions of devaluation-discrimination or social withdrawal
Some people like having a name for their disorder but depends on self-stigma

Question 4

Constructs of stigma

Answer 4

Stereotypes; not usually within personal control
Prejudice: negative attitude towards a group
Discrimination; behavioural aspects of stigma presumed to result from stereotypes & prejudiced

Question 5

What affects stigmatising attitudes

Answer 5

Causal belief model; biogenetic (if you belief disorder is genetic, may have less stigma as know person can’t help it), psychosocial
Familiarity; job, family member (exposure)
Socioeconomic status
Culture; anti-stigma campaigns

Question 6

Biogenetic models of causal belief correlate with;

Answer 6

Increased explicit fear & stronger self-guilt in people diagnosed with mental illness
Reduced perceived responsibility but greater social distance in gen pop
Increased treatment seeking (medication)
Reduced perceived control

Question 7

Lincoln et al (2008)

Answer 7

Biogenetic educational intervention in psych & medical students
Led to increase in attribution of blame in both groups & increased negative outlook in prognosis in psych students

Question 8

Effects of continuum beliefs

Answer 8

Most mental health disorders thought of as being on spectrum (continuum)
Less stigmatising than to think of it as biogenetic
Wiesiahn et al (2016); continuum group showed less endorsement of stereotype incompetence/unpredictability than the biogenetic group

Question 9

Effects of age

Answer 9

Moses et al (2010); stigma towards adolescents with mental health problems case from family members, peers & teachers
46% describes those closest to them as being manipulative, distrusting them, avoiding them, putting them & gossiping about them

Question 10

Influences on recovery & treatment

Answer 10

Employers less likely to be accepting
Socially excluded, reduced reintergration
Self-stigma redfuces self-esteem
Medical students found to be unlikely to seek treatment for mental health problems due to fears about details being on their medical records
Come out proud improves outcome over medicalisation

Question 11

Role of the media

Answer 11

Owen (2012) all films released between 1990-2010
Characters with scz
Most displayed violent behaviour, 1/3 engages in homocidal behaviour, 1/4 commited suicide

Question 12

Influence of disorder

Answer 12

Depression & scz perceived to be more unpredictable

Scz; negative emotions, perceptions of dangerousness & unpredictability

Question 13

Reducing stigma

Answer 13

Role of social psych; inter-group relations & reducing prejudice, increasing social contact with people with mental health problems, encouraging disclosure
Understanding the process of illness, improving diagnostic categories & the treatments used

Question 14

Outcomes set by the ‘Time to change’ programme

Answer 14

Significantly increase public awareness of mental health, 5% positive shift in public attitudes towards mental health problems, 5% reduction in discrimination by 2012
100,000 people with mental health problems to have increased knowledge, confidence & assertiveness to challenge discrimination by 2012
Provision, through physical activity of greater opportunities did 275k people with range of MI to come together, both to break down discrimination & to improve wellbeing by 2012

Question 15

Influence of legality

Answer 15

Rights of the individual vs responsibilities of society to provide care
Ethics & legal systems shift with the development of societal & legal concepts
Public opinion influences these legal & ethical issues
Being sectioned relies on assessment of; having diagnosable MI, being dangerous to themselves or others, being unable to care for themselves

Question 16

Assessing dangerousness

Answer 16

The view that people with mental illness are more dangerous varies according to ethnicity
Black males perceived as more dangerous & may be reason why this pop are over-represented in psychiatric institutions
If we can’t predict dangerousness then how can we justify involuntary commitment

Question 17

Duty to warn

Answer 17

If someone is viewed as potential threat to others, there’s a responsibility of health professionals & family/friends to warn those at risk
Threats must be specific