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Self-stigma in people with mental illness
Amy C Watson1, Patrick Corrigan, Jonathon E Larson
1Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 60607, USA. acwatson@uic.edu
Schizophrenia Bulletin
|January 27, 2007
Summary
Internalizing mental illness stigma negatively impacts self-esteem and self-efficacy in individuals with serious mental illness. Interventions targeting group identification, perceived legitimacy, and stereotype agreement may help mitigate self-stigma.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Mental illness stigma can be internalized by individuals, leading to reduced self-esteem and self-efficacy.
- Understanding the self-stigma process is crucial for developing effective interventions for serious mental illness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a model of self-stigma in individuals with serious mental illness.
- To examine the mediational processes within the self-stigma model, including the roles of group identification, perceived legitimacy, and stereotype agreement.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-one individuals with serious mental illness completed self-report measures.
- Measures included the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, group identification (GI), perceived legitimacy (PL), self-esteem, and self-efficacy.
- Statistical models tested mediational pathways involving stereotype agreement and stigma self-concurrence (SSC).
Main Results:
- Findings partially supported the proposed mediational processes in the self-stigma model.
- Group identification (GI) and perceived legitimacy (PL) influenced stigma self-concurrence (SSC) through stereotype agreement.
- Stigma self-concurrence (SSC) mediated the relationship between GI/PL and self-efficacy and self-esteem.
Conclusions:
- Group identification, perceived legitimacy, and stereotype agreement are key factors in the self-stigma process.
- These factors represent potential targets for interventions aimed at reducing self-stigma and improving outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness.
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