Mental Illness Stigma Research Paper

Stand Up Against Mental Illness Stigma
Walking through Las Vegas Boulevard or Downtown, have you ever judged someone by their appearance and the way they acted? You might see this often if you stroll through these areas. Vividly, you observe a woman rambling to herself about things no-one couldn’t fully understand. People laugh and make nasty jokes about the way she spoke, women clutch their boyfriends as they got closer to her, people rush to other side of the street to avoid conversation with her. They were all avoiding her with caution in fear that she would hurt them. To the public’s analysis, it was safe to assume she was crazy. All of the facts seemed to be true given her ragged appearance and her irrational outbursts while she recited

Negative headlines such as, “History of Schizophrenia Detailed for Man Held in Subway Attack,” portrays how mental illness was the reason a crime was committed. Negative headlines like these leads most viewers to believe people with mental illnesses are violently linked to crime. This assumption is proven to be false while researchers suggests most crimes are committed by people who are not mentally ill (Smith 6). With the negativity the media broadcasts, studies have also suggested the culture we’re raised in affects the way we view others with mental illness as well. These cultural upbringings can distort perspectives on individuals with mental illnesses leading some people to label these individuals to be grouped as “different” people (Rusch et al. 239). Through this analysis, comparing cultures such as Asian cultures and American culture, the similarities and views on people with mental disorders are all the same as they point out people who have mental illness are dangerous and unfit to be in society. Although studies suggest stigmas against people with mental illness are much more complex and need further examining to find the actual root cause, the most effective way to help reduce stigma is through education, contact, and protest (Corbière et. al 2). Understanding what attributes to stigma and being knowledgeable of these three current

This theory leads research studies to be more complex than most because of the different cultural upbringings people possess. Although studies suggest there may be more than one factor that causes the lack of acceptance of those suffering from mental illness, there have been some studies providing detailed information on how society influences our attitudes. In the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, author Ng suggests that people stigmatize based on how society conceptualizes and labels illness (Ng 388). She states, “These are influenced by complex factors associated with culture, religion, values, social orientation, and system” (Ng 388). This article proves stigmatizing attitudes do not have an actual known origin and are unique to their own societies. The most important way to understand this argument is to view the concern using etic (inner) and emic(outer) approaches, to examine how mental illness stigma originates in order to stop stigmatizing