Online Art-Based Interventions from Peer Influencers to Reduce Mental Health Stigma: A Randomized-Controlled Trial

Stigmatizing perceptions of people with mental health conditions continue to frame them as dangerous, weak-willed, flawed, and culpable for their symptoms. Guided by social contact and social role valorization theories, the present study consists of a randomized controlled trial of an asynchronous, online social contact intervention to reduce mental health stigma among members of the public (N = 318). Groups 1-3 viewed intervention posts including art and writing, art-only, and writing-only created by peer influencers self-identifying with mental health conditions on Instagram. Group 4 viewed matched comparison posts that were not about mental health. Results showed that participants in the intervention groups reported significantly higher mental health awareness, general sympathy, and appreciation for people with mental health conditions than those in the comparison group. All groups reported a significant decrease in prejudice. These results have implications for collaborating with peer influencers to develop and implement cost-effective online interventions to reduce mental health stigma.