Mental Health Stigma Across the United States and India

Presenter Information

Emma AtchisonFollow

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

Spring Scholars Week 2021 Event

Psychology: Projects In-Progress

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 

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