Mental illness topics in popular periodicals

Recent emphases on educating the general public about mental illness have included the encouragement of the publication of plainly written, lay-oriented information about mental disorders and their treatment in popular periodicals. To examine the extent to which coverage of mental health topics in popular magazines is being accomplished, the present study looked at the numbers and types of articles related to mental health indexed in the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature and changes in indexed articles between 1965 and 1988. The number of articles and number of headings related to mental illness and treatment have increased significantly since 1965, particularly those describing specific disorders. In addition, many of the changes in headings used by the Readers' Guide are consistent with changes in the field (e.g., the introduction of new diagnostic categories) and with desired changes in terminology (e.g., using less stigmatizing terms). These general findings are encouraging for mental health education advocates, although more detailed analysis of the content of articles is needed to be sure that the increased periodical information available to the public is accurate and up-to-date.