Mental Health Stigma and Social Contact Revisited: The Role of Network Closeness and Negativity

Researchers and policymakers are increasingly interested in the extent to which mental health stigma can be mitigated through social contact with people who disclose mental health issues. Empirical research on contact and stigma, however, largely focuses on the presence of contact without fully examining the nature of relationships. Interpersonal ties, for example, can be enduring and supportive, enduring and stressful, or weak yet cooperative. Using a novel egocentric network survey, this study contributes by measuring contact with respect to both the presence of alters with perceived mental health issues and the nature of those connections. Results show that, compared to respondents without any contact, naming more mental health contacts is associated with a reduction in stigma only when those relations are characterized by closeness and a lack of negativity. Among individuals with contact, a higher proportion of relationships perceived as negative or “difficult” exacerbates stigma. Implications of these findings for stigma reduction are discussed.