scholarly journals Newspaper reporting of homicide-suicide and mental illness

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 268-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Flynn ◽  
Linda Gask ◽  
Jenny Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Consecutive Series ◽  
Newspaper Reporting ◽  
Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽  
The Media ◽  
Accurate Reporting ◽  
Newspaper Articles

Aims and methodTo explore the portrayal of homicide-suicide in newspaper articles, particularly how mental illness was reported. We carried out a qualitative study in England and Wales (2006–2008). Data from newspaper articles obtained via the LexisNexis database were used to examine a consecutive series of 60 cases.ResultsA fascination with extreme violence, vulnerable victims and having someone to blame made homicide-suicides newsworthy. Some offenders were portrayed in a stereotypical manner and pejorative language was used to describe mental illness. The findings showed evidence of inaccurate and speculative reference to mental disorder in newspaper reports.Clinical implicationsThe media should avoid speculation on people's mental state. Accurate reporting is essential to reduce stigma of mental illness, which may in turn encourage people to seek help if they experience similar emotional distress.

scholarly journals Newspaper Articles Related to the Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) Designation: A Comparative Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 697-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Whitley ◽  
JiaWei Wang ◽  
Victoria Carmichael ◽  
Ruth Wellen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Not Criminally Responsible ◽  
The Media ◽  
Negative Tone ◽  
Newspaper Articles

Objective: The not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) designation remains widely misunderstood by the public. Such misunderstandings may also be reflected in the media. As such, the aim of this study is to conduct a preliminary examination of the tone and content of recent Canadian newspaper articles where NCRMD is a major theme, comparing these to generic articles about mental illness. Methods: Articles about mental illness were gathered from major Canadian newspapers. These were then divided into two categories: 1) articles where NCRMD was a major theme and 2) articles where NCRMD was not a major theme. Articles were then coded for the presence or absence of 1) a negative tone, 2) stigmatising tone/content, 3) recovery/rehabilitation as a theme, and 4) shortage of resources/poor quality of care as a theme. Results: The retrieval strategy resulted in 940 articles. Fourteen percent ( n = 131) of all articles had NCRMD as a major theme. In comparison to generic articles about mental illness, articles with NCRMD as a major theme were significantly more likely to have a negative tone ( P < 0.001) and stigmatising tone/content ( P < 0.001) and significantly less likely to have recovery/rehabilitation ( P < 0.001) or shortage of resources/poor quality of care as a theme ( P < 0.001). Conclusions: Articles with NCRMD as a theme were overwhelmingly negative and almost never focused on recovery or rehabilitation, in stark comparison to generic articles about mental illness.

Emotional reactions to people with mental illness

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias C. Angermeyer ◽  
Anita Holzinger ◽  
Herbert Matschinger
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Substantial Effect ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
The Public ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽  
Different Cultures

Aims– Based on findings from population surveys, we provide an overview of the public's emotional reactions to people with mental illness.Methods– A literature search for populations studies using measures of emotional response to people with mental illness was carried out. In addition, data on the public's emotional reactions, originating from representative surveys conducted in Germany in the years 1990, 1993 and 2001, were analysed.Results– Positive emotional reactions to people with mental illness are most prevalent, followed by fear and anger. This pattern appears relatively stable across different cultures. In recent years, the emotional response of the public remained unchanged or even deteriorated. The public seems to react quite differently to people with different mental disorders. Emotional reactions have a substantial effect on the desire for social distance. The association between familiarity with mental disorder and the desire for social distance is to a considerable extent mediated through emotions.Conclusions– The public's emotional reactions to people with mental disorder are relatively under-researched. More research may help better understand the complexities of the stigma surrounding mental illness. Interventions aimed at reducing the stigma of mental illness may benefit from paying more attention to emotions.

scholarly journals The stigma of mental illness: how you can use the media to reduce it

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 281-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Salter ◽  
Peter Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽  
The Media

scholarly journals Insight and recovery and the stigma of mental illness - analysis of the phenomenon of insight in schizophrenia and its correlations with the processes of stigma and self-stigma

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-320
Author(s):  
Ewelina Soroka ◽  
Kamila Dziwota ◽  
Justyna Pawęzka ◽  
Marcin Olajossy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Good Insight ◽  
Multidimensional Construct ◽  
Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Risk Of Relapse

AbstractDoes better insight associated with the process of recovery mean a stronger sense of mental illness stigma? This article presents the relationship between a multidimensional construct, which is the insight and the phenomena of stigma and self-stigma of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. It is well known that the term insight contains: a sense of illness, the patient's attitude to its symptoms, explanation of the causes of the illness, attitude to the rationale of treatment and awareness of the risk of relapse. On the other hand, self-stigma occurs when the patient internalizes and refers to himself/herselfnegative and stigmatizing social attitudes, conditioned by the presence of conventionalbeliefs, strengthened by the media, and this weakens the process of recovery.How much does good insight strengthen the patient on the way to fuller social functioning, and how much does it imprint stigma of mental illness and weaken its positionin society? The authors of the paper are discussing the subject of insight and stigma from the patient's perspective, over the patient’s attitude towards the diagnosis of schizophrenia, the process of recovery and the aspect of hope - important in recovery. These study of construct insight shows that the relationship insight-recovery-stigma is a multi-dimensional plane, dependent on various factors, that needs constant deepening and complementing with further research.

scholarly journals How people bereaved by suicide perceive newspaper reporting: qualitative study

2013 ◽  
Vol 203 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Chapple ◽  
Sue Ziebland ◽  
Sue Simkin ◽  
Keith Hawton
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
The Press ◽  
Newspaper Reporting ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Accurate Reporting

BackgroundPeople bereaved by suicide are often reported to be distressed by media reporting. Current media guidelines for reporting suicide focus especially on prevention of copycat behaviour.AimsTo explore bereaved individuals' experiences of media reporting after suicide and to examine their priorities in relation to media guidelines.MethodIn-depth interviews with 40 people bereaved by suicide, with qualitative analysis. Review of four guidelines.ResultsThere is a difference of emphasis between guidance for the press that aims to prevent copycat suicides (especially avoidance of details such as method used) and the perspectives of bereaved people (who prioritise sympathetic and accurate reporting, sometimes including details of the death and images of the person who died). We found that bereaved relatives were sometimes keen to talk to the press. Those who were upset by the press focused on careless reporting, misquoting and speculation that gave an inaccurate impression of the death.ConclusionsThe Leveson Inquiry has drawn attention to the damage that can be caused by irresponsible journalism. Guidelines written to prevent ‘copycat’ suicides are important, but so are the needs of bereaved relatives. Because accuracy matters greatly to the bereaved, families should be able to work with an intermediary such as a police press officer to prepare a statement for the press to minimise the risk of misrepresentation.

scholarly journals Experience of stigma by people with schizophrenia compared with people with depression or malignancies

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 135-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Świtaj ◽  
Jacek Wciórka ◽  
Paweł Grygiel ◽  
Julita Smolarska-Świtaj ◽  
Marta Anczewska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Multiple Regression Analysis ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Background Characteristics ◽  
Consumer Experiences ◽  
Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
Stigma Experiences

Aims and methodTo compare the frequency of experiences of stigma reported by people with schizophrenia and by people with other health problems (depression and malignancies). The Stigma section of the Consumer Experiences of Stigma Questionnaire (CESQ) was administered to 153 people with schizophrenia, 106 people with depression and 85 people with malignancies.ResultsUsing multiple regression analysis we showed that after controlling for the differences in the participants' background characteristics, people with depression did not differ significantly in terms of the frequency of self-reported stigma experiences from patients with schizophrenia (β = − 0.064, P < 0.05). However, patients with malignancies felt stigmatised significantly less often than patients with schizophrenia β= − 0.240, P < 0.05).Clinical implicationsOur findings confirm that the stigma of mental illness is more pronounced than the stigma associated with physical health problems. Contrary to expectations, however, we were not able to demonstrate that people with depression are treated more favourably and experience less stigma than people with schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Service innovations

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 348-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Richman ◽  
Ken Wilson ◽  
Lynn Scally ◽  
Paul Edwards ◽  
Jacqueline Wood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Older People ◽  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Medical Officer ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Consecutive Series ◽  
Psychiatric Admission ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Support Team ◽  
Community Patients

Aims and MethodWe describe activity and outcome concerning a consecutive series of older community patients referred to an outreach support team while waiting for acute psychiatric admission.ResultsForty patients on an admissions waiting list who were referred to the outreach support team were followed up. Each patient was reassessed for admission by the responsible medical officer when an in-patient bed became available. Thirty patients who would have been admitted (if a bed had been available at the time of the first assessment) remained at home and did not need hospitalisation.Clinical ImplicationsThis study suggests that intensive domiciliary support might offer an acceptable form of crisis intervention for older people with mental illness. Further research is needed before generalisation of these findings can be recommended.

scholarly journals Service innovations

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (09) ◽  
pp. 348-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Richman ◽  
Ken Wilson ◽  
Lynn Scally ◽  
Paul Edwards ◽  
Jacqueline Wood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Older People ◽  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Medical Officer ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Consecutive Series ◽  
Psychiatric Admission ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Support Team ◽  
Community Patients

Aims and Method We describe activity and outcome concerning a consecutive series of older community patients referred to an outreach support team while waiting for acute psychiatric admission. Results Forty patients on an admissions waiting list who were referred to the outreach support team were followed up. Each patient was reassessed for admission by the responsible medical officer when an in-patient bed became available. Thirty patients who would have been admitted (if a bed had been available at the time of the first assessment) remained at home and did not need hospitalisation. Clinical Implications This study suggests that intensive domiciliary support might offer an acceptable form of crisis intervention for older people with mental illness. Further research is needed before generalisation of these findings can be recommended.

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