STIGMA

The Sources and Effects of Stigma



The Sources and Effects of Stigma

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to elaborate on the prevalence of stigma and its implications that it has particularly for those who are mentally impaired in some aspect. Despite the serious nature of this issue and the tremendous amount of work being done to study its effects, little work is being done to implement measures for its eradication. There are various known sources of stigma, few of which include the violent behaviors of a few people with mental health issues, false beliefs and negative media portrayals.

Studied first in the 1960's concept of stigma has been prevalent in societies and its intensity seems to increase gradually. Over the years, the concept of stigma has been redefined and has undergone repeated characterization; however, this is one social problem that seems too difficult to be completely eliminated. In this regard, many researchers are of the opinion that the focus of studies related to stigma is directed towards the investigation of its relation to the psychological approaches alone. They believe that the efforts for the insinuation of these findings have been neglected greatly (Corrigan, 2000).

The Concept of Stigma

In psychology and cognitive sciences, the term public stigma refers to the way the general publication reacts toward people with some mental illness. On the other hand, self stigma refers to the opinion of these people about themselves as influences by the public stigma. Both of these concepts include three major components which are; stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.

Stereotypes can be defined as the mutually agreed upon notions that a group of people holds collectively. A stereotype involved a stigmatized belief alone whereas the concept of prejudice involves the process of evaluation as well in the form of an emotional response such as fear or anger. This prejudice against a group can lead to discriminatory behavior, for example, hostility toward this minority or withholding them from gaining access to various services (Arthur & Hall-Clifford, 2013).

Sources of Stigma

The concept of stigma emerged centuries ago when those who were mentally ill were thought to be individuals punished by god. This belief leads to other people's discriminatory, prejudiced and stigmatized attitude towards them. Despite the fact that a lot has been studied about mental illnesses, these attitudes failed to change.

One factor that has played a primary role in the persistent widespread of this belief is the expectation of violent behaviors by the mentally impaired people. Another reason for this is the way mental illness is portrayed in media, particularly in the news. Usually in the news every bad incident is associated to the presence of some mental health problem. Also, dealing with such patients usually put a lot of pressure on the health practitioners, this too, in some cases lead to these stigmatized opinions. Additionally, the perception related to violent behaviors exhibited by those who suffer from mental health issues forms a major cause of stigma (Nacoste, R2008).

Effects of Stigma for People with Mental Health Problems

The lives of ...