Effects of the mental illness label in 1993: acceptance and rejection in the community

Effects of the mental illness label in obtaining community accommodation were examined, in a sample of 160 individuals advertising rooms or flats for rent in two Canadian cities, Windsor and London, Ontario, and in Detroit, Michigan. Telephone calls, for half the sample, made simple enquiries as to availability; for the other half, similar enquiries were made by an individual ostensibly receiving psychiatric treatment but soon to require accommodation. In the latter condition, rooms were significantly more likely to be described as unavailable. Comparisons are made to similar, previous research, and to current perspectives about community reactions to stigmatizing conditions.