Stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness: a critical appraisal

Abstract

This editorial gives an overview of the different roots and forms of discrimination and stigmatisation towards people with mental illness. It explains the differences between stereotype, prejudice and discrimination. It further highlights some research foci of stigma research in the last decade. The emphasis was mostly on investigating the attitudes of the general population, but barely addressed other groups that have probably more intensive and more crucial contact with people with mental illness. Furthermore, only very few intervention programs were evaluated. This editorial concludes that other groups than the general population, e.g., mental health professionals, should be investigated about their attitudes to people with mental illness. Moreover, intervention campaigns should be additionally evaluated after a given period as it is not well known whether effects of interventions are long-lasting. It might be that anti-stigma campaigns, as every public health campaign, must be repeated if sustainability is the goal. Furthermore, the message must be carefully chosen. One option is to replace the "traditional" messages by focussing, e.g., on symptoms of mental illness, for instance anxiety, affective symptoms or suicidal ideations. Finally, a plea for more stigma-related research is given as research in stigma-related issues is also stigmatised.

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