Reducing public stigma toward bipolar disorder: II. Mechanisms of stigma reduction

Investigating how mental health anti-stigma interventions work is crucial to increasing intervention efficacy. This paper represents the second part of a larger feasibility study comparing the effects of a novel intervention (loving-kindness meditation; LKM) and a standard education-contact strategy (EC), relative to a control condition, on reducing stigma toward bipolar disorder (BD). This study examined potential mechanisms of the effects of LKM and EC on the reduction of BD stigma found in Paper 1.

A total of 376 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to EC, LKM, or a control condition. The indirect effects of EC and LKM relative to control on stigma, via positivity and negativity toward others and knowledge of BD, were tested.

The effect of EC on lowering stigma toward a hypothetical person with BD was suggested to occur via more knowledge about BD. More positivity toward others possibly explained the effect of LKM and EC on lowering stigma toward a hypothetical person with BD and increasing willingness for future contact with a confederate with BD. Negativity toward others possibly explained the effect of EC on lowering stigma toward a hypothetical person with BD.

The cross-sectional design was a key limitation of analyses testing mechanisms of intervention.

Findings highlight that education about BD may be important in reducing stigma related to the disorder. Additionally, enhancing positivity toward others may be a potential mechanism through which stigma reduction occurs across different intervention approaches.