Comparison of stigmatizing experiences between Canadian and Korean patients with depression and bipolar disorders

Stigma is one of the key barriers to mental health services, and there have been growing efforts to develop antistigma programs. However, little research has been done on quantifying experiences of stigma and their psychosocial impacts in the perspectives of those who suffer from mental illnesses. It is essential to develop an instrument that quantifies the extent and impact of stigma. Therefore, we conducted a study to conduct a field test on The Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences and measure the difference in perceived stigma and its psychosocial impacts on Korean and Canadian patients with depression and bipolar disorders.

A cross-sectional comparison study was conducted. Data collection took place at a tertiary care hospital located in Seoul, South Korea. Data for the Canadian patient group were retrieved from a previous study conducted by Lazowski et al.

In total, 214 Canadian and 51 Korean individuals with depression and bipolar disorder participated. Canadian participants reported significantly higher experience with stigma (P<0.05) and its impact (P<0.05) compared with Korean participants. Both subscales of the inventory (the Stigma Experiences Scale and the Stigma Impact Scale) were highly reliable, with reliability coefficients of 0.81 and 0.93, respectively.

In conclusion, there seems to be higher level of stigma and impact in the Canadian population compared with the Korean population. These differences in stigma experience and their impact in different populations suggest the need to develop more tailored antistigma programs. The Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences is a highly reliable instrument.