An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Stigma and Acculturation on the Perception of Mental Illness in the Black Community

An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Stigma and Acculturation on the Perception of Mental Illness in the Black Community
Author: Louis Appiah-Kubi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 78
Release: 2020
Genre: Acculturation
ISBN:

Mental health stigma serves as a chronic barrier to help-seeking and in some cases exacerbates mental health conditions (SAMHSA, 2013). Researchers and clinicians have tried many different methods to reduce these negative attitudes. A popular and usually successful method is education on what mental illness is, its causes, prognosis, and the availability and effectiveness of treatment. Large scale educational efforts have not been adequate in addressing these issues. Therefore, studies are being tailored to find stereotypes within specific communities so as to come up with matching educational protocols (Corrigan & Penn, 2015). The current study explored attitudes among African Americans in comparison to Black immigrants concerning mental illness stigma and accessing mental health services and also examined the effect of acculturation on these attitudes. A convenience sample of African American and Black Immigrant adults completed a battery of inventories including the following: A demographic survey, The Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale (CAMI), and the Immigrant Bicultural or Multicultural Identity Scale (IBMI). All 68 participants completed the CAMI scale and the demographic survey, and the 44 immigrant participants completed the IBMI scale in addition. Findings indicated that African Americans were equally sympathetic and compassionate as Black immigrants but were more apprehensive of mental health care facilities being located in their neighborhoods. Also, Black immigrants who had lived in the U.S longer endorsed more positive attitudes than the recently immigrated.

Changing the Stigma of Mental Health Among African Americans: Moving From Denial to Acceptance

Changing the Stigma of Mental Health Among African Americans: Moving From Denial to Acceptance
Author: Hendricks, LaVelle
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2023-09-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1668489201

Mental health among African Americans historically has been kept secret, and often has been subject to intense denial from both the individuals with mental health concerns and their communities. Thus, African Americans have remained shielded from treatments that are currently available, which may allow them to become mentally healthier and find a sense of psychological homeostasis. Recognizing mental illness treatment as a strength and not a weakness is key to mitigating existing issues of mental health in the African American community today. Changing the Stigma of Mental Health Among African Americans: Moving From Denial to Acceptance provides the history of mental health in the African American community and how denial has hindered and hampered treatment within this community. Covering topics such as bipolar disorder, dementia, and disruptive behavior, this book is ideal for educators, researchers, practitioners, the African American spiritual community, and all individuals concerned about psychological care for African Americans.

The Effects of Acculturation on the Levels of Stigma Among Mental Health Providers of Chinese Descent in the USA

The Effects of Acculturation on the Levels of Stigma Among Mental Health Providers of Chinese Descent in the USA
Author: Yun Lynn Hsu
Publisher:
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2017
Genre: Chinese Americans
ISBN:

Culture can be an important factor in shaping how individuals perceive and respond to those with mental illness, and mental illness may oftentimes be stigmatized across different societies. Research indicates that mental illness related stigma and discrimination includes receiving negative community attitudes, as well as social avoidance of affected individuals; the aforementioned are some common experiences among patients who experience mental illness. In addition to the perceived stigma in society, many individuals with mental illness may be reluctant in seeking help, or otherwise delaying treatment due to perceived discrimination from health care providers. A study in China indicated a lack of mental health knowledge and education in China, as well as their collectivistic point of view (i.e., fear of losing face collectively) may have contributed to the negative and stigmatizing attitudes held by health care providers (Li, Li, Thornicroft & Huang, 2014).

Deconstructing Stigma in Mental Health

Deconstructing Stigma in Mental Health
Author: Canfield, Brittany A.
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2018-05-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1522538097

Stigma continues to play an integral role in the multifaceted issues facing mental health. While identifying a clear operational definition of stigma has been a challenge in the field, the issues related to stigma grossly affect not only the mental health population but society as a whole. Deconstructing Stigma in Mental Health provides emerging research on issues related to stigma as a whole including ignorance, prejudice, and discrimination. While highlighting issues such as stigma and its role in mental health and how stigma is perpetuated in society, this publication explores the historical context of stigma, current issues and resolutions through intersectional collaboration, and the deconstruction of mental health stigmas. This book is a valuable resource for mental health administrators and clinicians, researchers, educators, policy makers, and psychology professionals seeking information on current mental health stigma trends.

Mental Health among African Americans

Mental Health among African Americans
Author: Erlanger A. Turner
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2019-09-25
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1498565786

In Mental Health among African Americans: Innovations in Research and Practice, Erlanger A. Turner presents a new theoretical framework for understanding mental health disparities that emphasizes the need for culturally sensitive clinical practices and integration of Afrocentric values in order to address the lower rates of African Americans seeking treatment in the United States. Turner traces this reluctance to the unethical scientific research practices that characterized experiments in recent history, like the well-known Tuskegee Syphilis study, and stresses the need for providers to address race-related stress.

Written Off

Written Off
Author: Philip T. Yanos
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2018-01-11
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1108195385

Written-Off tells the story of how mental health stigma comes to have a profound impact on the lives of people diagnosed with mental illnesses. It reviews theory, research, and history - illustrated with a multitude of personal stories - in four major areas. These areas are: the prevalence and predictors of negative attitudes and behaviors toward mental illness, the impact of community attitudes and behaviors on the self-perceptions of people diagnosed with mental illness, the impact of self-perceptions on the community participation of people diagnosed with mental illness, and how to change self-perceptions through a variety of approaches.

The Relationship of Culture and the Stigma of Mental Illness

The Relationship of Culture and the Stigma of Mental Illness
Author: Lukasz Krol (M.)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 28
Release: 2010
Genre: Mental illness
ISBN: 9781124281858

Stigma of mental illness is a destructive force, significantly impacting the lives of people struggling with mental health problems and serving as a significant barrier to treatment. Vast evidence of the disparaging impact of stigma is found in the related scientific literature, as is the support for its presence across all cultures. However, the literature also suggests that there are significant differences among cultures in the scope and severity of such negativist attitudes toward consumers of mental health services. Different cultural and ethnic groups vary in the scope of their adherence to such discriminatory views and their reasons for engaging in stigmatization. The current research explored the relationship between culture and stigma of mental illness in a sample of college students enrolled at University of Hartford. In total, 86 people participated in the project, representing four cultural groups: (a) African American, (b) Hispanic, (c) Asian, and (d) Caucasian. The results supported the initial hypothesis where stigmatizing attitudes towards consumers of mental health were found among the participants, albeit not as extensive as it reportedly is in general society. Even though stigmatizing attitudes were found among the participants, the overall perception of people with mental illness was fairly positive. The participants reported willingness to have fairly close relationships with such individuals and their desired social distance did not prove overly extensive. Regardless, negative attributes associated with mental illness were reported by the participants, particularly in regards to stability of some of the disorders, a person's ability to respond to treatment and their ability to recover from the given condition. Additionally, the belief that people should be coerced into treatment, even against the given person's will, was quite dominant among the participants. Furthermore, people struggling with some of the mental health conditions were viewed as personally responsible for their condition. Interestingly, people with mental illness were not deemed highly dangerous and participants reported being quite willing to help such individuals. Lastly, as expected, cultural differences were found in such perceptions of mental illness, most significantly between African American and Caucasian respondents. Specifically, the differences were found in levels of acculturation, endorsement of segregation of people of mental illness (through such means as inpatient involuntary hospitalization), stability of depression (belief that people with depression can respond to treatment and that they will recover from the illness), and feeling pity for people struggling with cancer.

Reducing the Stigma of Mental Illness

Reducing the Stigma of Mental Illness
Author: Norman Sartorius
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2005-05-26
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780521549431

Details the results of the Open Doors Programme, set up to fight the stigma/discrimination attached to schizophrenia.

The Stigma Effect

The Stigma Effect
Author: Patrick W. Corrigan
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0231545002

Despite efforts to redress the prejudice and discrimination faced by people with mental illness, a pervasive stigma remains. Many well-meant programs have attempted to counter stigma with affirming attitudes of recovery and self-determination. Yet the results of these efforts have been mixed. In The Stigma Effect, psychologist Patrick W. Corrigan examines the unintended consequences of mental health campaigns and proposes new policies in their place. Corrigan analyzes the agendas of government agencies, mental health care providers, and social service agencies that work with people with mental illness, dissecting how their best intentions can misfire. For example, a campaign to change the language around mental illness by replacing supposedly stigmatizing words with empowering ones has made little difference in how people with mental health conditions are viewed. Educational programs that frame mental illness as a brain disorder have made the general public less likely to blame people for their illnesses, but also skeptical that such conditions can be cured. Ultimately, Corrigan argues that effective strategies require leadership by those with lived experience, as their recovery stories replace ideas of incompetence and dangerousness with ones of hope and empowerment. As an experienced clinical researcher, as an advocate, and as a person who has struggled with such prejudices, Corrigan challenges readers to carefully examine anti-stigma programs and reckon with their true effects.