Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Implementation of a Real-Time Psychosis Risk Detection and Alerting System Based on Electronic Health Records using CogStack
Published on: May 15, 2020
Coping with stigma and discrimination: evidence from mental health service users in England
A Isaksson1, E Corker2, J Cotney3
1Department of Psychiatry,Faculty of Medicine,University of Freiburg,Germany.
Aims:
Mental health stigma and discrimination are significant problems. Common coping orientations include: concealing mental health problems, challenging others and educating others. We describe the use of common stigma coping orientations and explain variations within a sample of English mental health service users.
Methods:
Cross-sectional survey data were collected as part of the Viewpoint survey of mental health service users' experiences of discrimination (n = 3005). Linear regression analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with the three stigma coping orientations.
Results:
The most common coping orientation was to conceal mental health problems (73%), which was strongly associated with anticipated discrimination. Only 51% ever challenged others because of discriminating behaviour, this being related to experienced discrimination, but also to higher confidence to tackle stigma.
Conclusions:
Although stigma coping orientations vary by context, individuals often choose to conceal problems, which is associated with greater anticipated and experienced discrimination and less confidence to challenge stigma. The direction of this association requires further investigation.
Related Concept Videos
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
Treatment Strategies for Psychological Disorders
Psychological therapies focus on modifying emotions, thoughts, and behaviors through talking, interpreting, listening, rewarding, challenging, and modeling. Clinical psychologists, counselors, and social workers commonly practice psychotherapy. Clinical...
Coping Strategies: Problem Focused
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Stereotype Content Model

