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Stigma Towards Depression Decreases, But Stigma Towards Alcohol Dependence On The Rise

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For the first time since nation-wide data has been recorded, stigma towards those with depression has dropped significantly. 

A study from Indiana University found that stigma associated with depression has dropped to a record low, but stigma surrounding other mental illnesses has either remained the same, or increased.

“Unlike the UK, Scotland, or Australia, the US has never mounted a nationwide anti-stigma effort. So, the many efforts that have been going on in the US has had an effect, as far as we can tell – those efforts include those by advocacy groups, by messaging in drug advertisements, mental health providers, the “story” movement among people with mental health issues,” Bernice Pescosolido, co-author of the study and a Distinguished Professor of Sociology in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences told Theravive. 

“More importantly, in our data, it looks like the younger generations are front and center in not endorsing stigma. While we have to be cautious about seeing this as a permanent change (because we know that people get more conservative socially with age), our hope is that this signals a generational shift.” 

Published in Jama Network Open, the study analysed how stigma towards mental health disorders including major depression, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia has changed over two decades. 

The researchers examined data from the US National Stigma Studies to look at stigma in 1996, 2006 and 2018.

They analyzed how the public understood causes underlying an individuals’ problem, the perceptions they held of what people with certain mental illnesses were like, and whether they were willing to interact with people with certain mental illnesses.

From 1996 to 2006 they found that Americans had increasing levels of belief that mental health conditions were due to genetics or brain issues, rather than other causes like bad character or a bad upbringing.

Despite this, these beliefs weren’t associated with a decrease in the levels of rejection towards those with mental illness.

The data suggests that between 2006 and 2017, there was a noticeable drop in the rejection towards people who have major depression.

But this was not the case for all mental disorders. The perception in the public that schizophrenia was dangerous increased. The view that alcohol dependence was associated with a lack of morality also increased.

“The situation with schizophrenia… especially in the US, we see a much higher endorsement of “likely violent behavior” stigma than many of the other countries we have studied in our earlier global study of stigma,” Pescosolido said. 

“The alcohol results are more difficult to understand. Americans have always, in our studies, been more stigmatizing toward drug and alcohol problems. More Americans are endorsing a moral cause of alcohol problems (“bad character”) than in the past, even as most see it as a real disease.” 

The researchers are hopeful their work will help in the development of efforts to minimize stigma. 

“Knowing what prejudice and discrimination look like provides the best targets for anti-stigma efforts. Assuming what people’s beliefs and attitudes are is a poor substitute for seeing what messages, programs and policies are needed to counter the devastating effects of stigma on individuals, their families and society,” Pescosolido said. 

“Doing these studies every now and then allows us to see if we are “moving the needle”, and how and what to do next. Some people think it is only important to look at how to change individuals but, as sociologists, we understand that helping individuals to fight stigma in the context of a toxic culture can be self-defeating, and moreover, changing the culture as we eliminate self-stigma creates a next generation of individuals less likely to stigmatize others.”

She argues the research is important in demonstrating both that the needle can be moved, and that the youth have an important role to play in decreasing levels of stigma.

“We can “move the needle”. There had been a sense among many of us that stigma was so stubborn and embedded in our society that we would continue to see little or no change as we saw in our 2006 study,” she said. 

“We should “start young” and be persistent. If Millennials and Gen Xers are more open to understand that mental health is health, then we should continue to look to them as leaders of change.” 


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