Is It Cultural Context or Cultural Value? Unpackaging Cultural Influences on Stigma Toward Mental Illness and Barrier to Help-Seeking

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1022-1031
Author(s):  
Sylvia Xiaohua Chen ◽  
Winnie W. S. Mak ◽  
Ben C. P. Lam
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Chinese Americans ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Face Concern ◽  
The Mean

There have been growing interests in sampling underrepresented populations to test whether psychological processes are universal. The present cross-sectional study examined cultural influences on stigma toward mental illness and perceived barrier to help-seeking among Hong Kong Chinese, Chinese Americans, and European Americans ( N = 555 university students). Significant cultural differences were found in the mean levels, with the two Chinese groups reporting higher levels of stigma toward mental illness and perceived barrier to help-seeking than European Americans, and these cultural differences were accounted for by face concern. In addition, the strengths of paths from face concern to stigma toward mental illness and perceived barrier to help-seeking were equivalent across the three cultural groups. These findings tease apart the source of cultural influences and underscore the importance of comparing cultural differences both at the mean level and the structural level, but more importantly, to unpackage the observed differences by testing the mediating role of cultural values.

scholarly journals Stigma associated with and attitude regarding mental health help-seeking among undergraduate nursing students in Karachi, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salima Farooq ◽  
Yasmin Parpio ◽  
Saadia Sattar ◽  
Zahra Ali ◽  
Shirin Rahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing Students ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background Globally, the prevalence of mental illness amongst university students is a major concern; same is the case with nursing students. Unaddressed mental illness stigma contributes towards hiding of symptoms hampers timely identification of the disease, and leads to reluctance in attitude towards seeking help. This study determined personal and perceived depression stigma and attitude towards help-seeking behaviors and its associated factors, among undergraduate nursing students at a private nursing institution in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study by recruiting 246 first and second-Year undergraduate nursing students using consecutive sampling. Data were collected using the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS) and the Attitude toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS), along with a demographic questionnaire. Chi-square test, Fischer’s exact test and student T test were used to determine significance of difference of each response between first and second year students. Multiple linear regression was employed to determine predictors of DSS and ATSPPHS. Approval was obtained from the university’s Ethics Review Committee. Results The study findings revealed that the mean scores of the personal and perceived stigma scales were 29.7 ± 4.9 and 24.3 ± 6.1, respectively. The mean score of ATSPPHS was 16.5 ± 3.8. The participants reported a mean openness score of7.8 ± 2.6 and a value scale score of 8.7 ± 3.0. A history of psychiatric illness, current living arrangements, and personal depression stigma were found to be significant predictors of ATSPHHS. The year of study was a significant predictor of personal depression stigma whereas both years of study and the current living arrangements were significantly associated with perceived depression stigma. Conclusion Attitude towards seeking help for mental illness was significantly influenced by personal and perceived stigma. Moreover, previous history of psychiatric illness and living arrangements also predicted attitudes towards seeking help. In order to encourage positive attitudes towards seeking help for students’ well-being, it is essential to destigmatize mental health issues by adapting context-based, individualized, and group mental health interventions.

scholarly journals Mental health stigma and professional help-seeking attitudes a comparison between Cuba and Germany

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246501
Author(s):  
Laura Nohr ◽  
Alexis Lorenzo Ruiz ◽  
Juan E. Sandoval Ferrer ◽  
Ulrike Buhlmann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Stigma ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes ◽  
German Sample ◽  
Community Attitudes

Globally the burden due to mental disorders is continuously increasing. Still, professional help-seeking behavior is not fully understood. To conceive cultural determinants of help-seeking is crucial to reduce personal and social costs of (untreated) mental disorders. The current study investigates mental health stigma and help-seeking attitudes in a Cuban (n = 195) and a German (n = 165) sample. In a questionnaire survey we asked for attitudes towards mental illness and professional help-seeking in the general Cuban and German populations. The cultural context was associated with mental health stigma and professional help-seeking attitudes. Interestingly, Cuban participants reported stronger mental health stigma and more willingness to seek help. In multiple hierarchical regression analyses, community attitudes towards the mentally ill significantly predicted help-seeking attitudes, especially in the Cuban sample. Only in the German sample, more negative individual beliefs about mental illness predicted more self-stigma on help-seeking. Beyond that, cultural context moderated the association between mental health stigma and help-seeking attitudes with a stronger association between the measures in the German sample. However, gender did not predict help-seeking attitudes and self-stigma on help-seeking and no interactions between community attitudes, cultural context, and gender were found in the prediction of help-seeking attitudes. Similarities and differences between the samples are discussed in the light of the cultural contexts and peculiarities of the current samples. Concluding, implications of the current findings are reviewed.

Help-Seeking Attitudes in Mandarin-Speaking Chinese Americans

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Fan ◽  
Jennifer Malone ◽  
Jorge Wong ◽  
Sarita Kohli ◽  
Leonard Beckum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Help Seeking ◽  
Chinese Americans ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes

Cross-Cultural Assessment of Situational Experience

2019 ◽  
pp. 218-229
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn Gardiner ◽  
Erica Baranski ◽  
Janina Larissa Buehler
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Psychology ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Situational Cues ◽  
Cultural Assessment ◽  
Situational Experience

Cross-cultural psychology can benefit from the incorporation of psychological situations and the investigation of how cultural influences are manifested in our daily lives. In this chapter, we review the current literature on cross-cultural assessments of situations under the framework of cues (objective attributes of a situation), characteristics (meaning or interpretation of cues), and classes (groups of situations based on cues or characteristics). Cultural situational cues, such as the weather or population density, vary both in frequency and in interpretation across countries. Characteristics of situations differ in the meaning individuals ascribe to cues, the affective response to situations based on culture socialization, and the amount of agency or autonomy perceived in situations. Lastly, classes of situations (e.g., education settings, the workplace, romantic relationships), provide a useful method of grouping common situations for understanding cultural differences.

scholarly journals Blind spots in stigma research? Broadening our perspective on mental illness stigma by exploring ‘what matters most’ in modern Western societies

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Schomerus ◽  
M. C. Angermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Qualitative Work ◽  
Conservative Values ◽  
Stigma Experiences ◽  
Blind Spots ◽  
What Matters

Abstract Aims The theory of ‘what matters most’ (WMM) has been developed to understand differences in mental illness stigma between cultures, postulating that stigma becomes most pervasive in situations that matter most in a specific cultural context. The rise of populism in Western societies demonstrates that also within one cultural context, different values ‘matter most’ to different groups. We expand the WMM framework to explore the spectrum of stigma manifestations within Western societies, relating it to both conservative/authoritarian and liberal/modern values. From our findings, we will develop hypotheses on how further research into value orientations and stigma might address potential blind spots in stigma research. Methods Based on a narrative review of the literature on mental illness stigma and value orientations, we apply the WMM framework to cultural mechanisms of stigma within modern Western societies. Results There are several studies showing an association between traditional, authoritarian, conservative values with stronger mental illness stigma, while studies examining the stigma within liberal, modern value orientations are scarce. We hypothesise on situations where encountering a person with mental illness could threaten liberal values and thus might provoke stigma among persons with such value orientations. For example, living with a person with mental illness could be seen as consuming energy and time, thereby jeopardising ‘self-actualisation’, the modern value of realising one's own full potential. As a result, a person highly valuing self-actualisation might try to avoid contact with persons with mental illness. Instances of potential ‘liberal stigma’ also include structural stigma or self-stigma, when, e.g. changing assumptions of what is considered ‘normal’ increase perceptions of being fundamentally different when experiencing mental illness. Conclusions ‘WMM’ appears to be a useful framework to direct research to potential blind spots within the field of stigma research. Looking at instances where liberal values conflict with dealing with a person with mental illness could provide a more comprehensive understanding of stigma experiences among persons with mental illness. However, for measuring stigma, tapping into liberal variations of mental illness stigma is methodologically challenging. Qualitative work could be the first step to elicit potential stigma experiences based on conflicts with liberal values.

Stigma and its impact on help-seeking for mental disorders: what do we know?

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Schomerus ◽  
Matthias C. Angermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
Individual Discrimination ◽  
Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽  
Seeking Help

SummaryAims – Many people suffering from serious mental illness do not seek appropriate medical help. The stigma of mental illness has often been considered a potential cause for reluctance in seeking help. We review recent evidence on this topic. Methods – Narrative review of the recent literature on stigma and helpseeking for psychiatric disorders. Results – There is proof of a particular stigma attached to seeking help for a mental problem. Anticipated individual discrimination and discrimination qua self-stigmatisation are associated with a reduced readiness to seek professional help for mental disorders. Intervention studies show that destigmatisation may lead to increased readiness to seek professional help, but other aspects like knowledge about mental diseases seem to be at least as important. The belief that seeking help for a mental health problem is actually helpful has been shown to be at the core of help-seeking intentions and thus offers a promising target for information programmes. Population based time-trend studies show that public attitudes towards help-seeking have improved over the last decade. Discussion – The relationship between help-seeking intentions and actual help-seeking needs further exploration. While many studies have been able to relate attitudes to intentions, predicting actual help-seeking has proved more difficult.Declaration of Interest: None.

Social stigma in severe mental illness in Tunisia: Clinical and socio-demographic correlates

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S577-S577 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Ouali ◽  
R. Jomli ◽  
R. Nefzi ◽  
H. Ouertani ◽  
F. Nacef
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionMental patients generally internalize some of the negative conceptions about how most people view them: they might be considered incompetent or untrustworthy or believe that people would not want to hire, or marry someone with mental illness. A lot of research on stigma has been conducted in western countries; however, little is still known on the situation in Arab-Muslim societies.ObjectivesTo evaluate social stigma as viewed by patients suffering from severe mental illness (SMI)MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study on clinically stabilized patients with schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder (BD) according to DSM IV, who were interviewed in our out-patients clinic with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire, containing 8 opinions on the social inclusion and stigmatization of psychiatric patients, with special reference to the local cultural context (e.g.: “It is better to hide mental illness in order to preserve the reputation of my family”)ResultsWe included 104 patients, 51% with schizophrenia and 49% with BD. Mean age was 38.4 years (18–74 years); 59.6% were males. Overall social stigma scores were high. Social stigma in patients was correlated with gender, age, place of residence and diagnosis. Patients with BD showed significantly less social stigma than patients with schizophrenia.ConclusionOur results show the need for a better understanding of this phenomenon in patients with SMI, but also within Tunisian society, in order to elaborate anti stigma strategies adapted to the local context.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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