Reducing Stigma toward the Mentally Ill.ppt

Reducing Stigma toward the Mentally Ill: The Impact of Exposure versus Information Stephanie Turner Hanover College Stigma Goffman (1963) defines stigma as an attribute of an individual that “makes him different from others…and of a less desirable kind-in the extreme, a person who is quite thoroughly bad, or dangerous, or weak”. Definitions Stigma: more specific, negative form of attitudes; directed toward specific group Exposure: any association or connection with mentally ill which involves seeing them as full human beings, capable of humor, warmth, intelligence, etc. and deserving of empathy Empathy: “vicarious emotional experience of others” (Mehrabian, 1972) Tested Interventions to Reduce Stigma Angermeyer (1996) and Dietrich (2006) discuss how close contact with the mentally ill impacts and shapes attitudes Addison and Thorpe (2004) Found that factual knowledge alone did not positively alter attitudes Used Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill Scale (CAMI) Pre- / Post-Intervention Design Demographics 2 surveys pre-intervention Empathy scale, CAMI Participant sees one of two videos Information: “Professional Lecture” Exposure: “Robert Documentary” Post-intervention surveys Empathy scale, CAMI Hypotheses Hypothesis 1: Participants in the Exposure Condition (“Robert Documentary”) will show a decrease in stigmatizing attitudes compared to participants in the Information Condition (“Professional Lecture”). Hypothesis 2: Participants in the Exposure Condition will show an increase in empathy as compared to the participants in the Information Condition. Participants Students (N = 25) n = 22 female; n = 3 male Wide range of previous experience with mental illness, including acquaintance, friend, family member, and self Majority (76%) reported some previous experience or contact with mentally ill persons Materials: CAMI Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI) (Taylor Dear, 1981) Four dimensions of attitudes: 5 point Likert Scale Be