Mental Health Stigma Across the United States and India
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Psychology
Minor
Creative Writing
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Esther Malm
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Mental health stigma is one of the most pressing issues faced by individuals with mental disorders. Stigma is often associated with perceptions rooted in the culture of the people group, as culture is defined as a way of life shared by a group of people for the subjective well-being of the group, passed down from generation to generation that provides the group with the basic needs of survival (Matsumoto & Juang, 2016). Mental health stigma is commonly defined as negative attitudes and/or behaviors targeted toward individuals that appear to have a mental health disorder (Pescosolido, Medina, Martin, & Long, 2013). This study aimed to examine the differences in mental health stigma, related to people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, across the United States and India. In addition to questions on stigma and attitudes about mental health, three cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2011) were examined - Power distance, Masculinity femininity and Individualism-collectivism. Data was collected from 268 participants across the United States (n = 134; 48% females) and India (n = 131; 29% females) using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). We sought to assess the associations between the three cultural dimensions and attitudes regarding mental illnesses and stigma. Findings show that there were significant mean differences in stigma and power distance between USA and India, where the USA had lower reports of stigma associated with being diagnosed with Bipolar or Schizophrenia. For power distance, India had a slightly higher score on power distance compared to the USA. Other findings will be discussed.
Keywords: mental health, mental health stigma, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
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Psychology: Projects In-Progress
Mental Health Stigma Across the United States and India
Mental health stigma is one of the most pressing issues faced by individuals with mental disorders. Stigma is often associated with perceptions rooted in the culture of the people group, as culture is defined as a way of life shared by a group of people for the subjective well-being of the group, passed down from generation to generation that provides the group with the basic needs of survival (Matsumoto & Juang, 2016). Mental health stigma is commonly defined as negative attitudes and/or behaviors targeted toward individuals that appear to have a mental health disorder (Pescosolido, Medina, Martin, & Long, 2013). This study aimed to examine the differences in mental health stigma, related to people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, across the United States and India. In addition to questions on stigma and attitudes about mental health, three cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2011) were examined - Power distance, Masculinity femininity and Individualism-collectivism. Data was collected from 268 participants across the United States (n = 134; 48% females) and India (n = 131; 29% females) using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). We sought to assess the associations between the three cultural dimensions and attitudes regarding mental illnesses and stigma. Findings show that there were significant mean differences in stigma and power distance between USA and India, where the USA had lower reports of stigma associated with being diagnosed with Bipolar or Schizophrenia. For power distance, India had a slightly higher score on power distance compared to the USA. Other findings will be discussed.
Keywords: mental health, mental health stigma, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder