Adaptation to Sexual Orientation Stigma Balsam, Kimberly F; Mohr, Jonathan J
Journal of counseling psychology,
07/2007, Letnik:
54, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This study extends research on dimensions of sexual minority experience by examining differences between bisexual and lesbian/gay adults in adaptation to sexual orientation stigma. The authors ...investigated sexual orientation self-disclosure, connection to community, and 4 identity-related variables (internalized homonegativity, stigma sensitivity, identity confusion, and identity superiority) in a community sample of 613 lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults. Sexual orientation effects were found on 3 of these 6 variables: Bisexual participants reported higher levels of identity confusion and lower levels of both self-disclosure and community connection relative to their lesbian/gay peers. Taken together, the 6 variables predicted indicators of psychosocial functioning. Associations among the 6 dimensions of sexual minority experience and psychosocial functioning did not differ for bisexual and lesbian/gay participants.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified Nigeria as one of the 13 African countries with a higher risk of spreading COVID-19. Although the Nigerian government and its health agencies set ...directives in place to help curb the spread of COVID-19, there are instances of unconcerned attitudes and adherence to false and superstitious beliefs surrounding COVID-19 among Nigerians. The current study examined the general perception of COVID-19 risk among Nigerians. Additionally, it examined the fear of possible stigmatization if an individual is diagnosed with COVID-19. A cross-section of 332 Nigerian men and women responded to measures on perceived vulnerability to diseases, perception of risk of being infected with COVID-19, COVID-19 stigma, and social and demographic characteristics. The findings show that respondents with a higher perception of vulnerability to diseases reported higher COVID-19 risk and perception of COVID-19-related stigma. Further, we found that gender, age, and education impacted COVID-19 risk and perception of COVID-19-related stigma. Our findings suggest that risk perceptions and attitudes towards COVID-19 can impact the level of preparedness against a pandemic. Also, the findings could inform strategies for the proper implementation of health protective measures at national, state, and local government levels during a viral outbreak.
The article investigates ex-convicts' experiences of stigmatization and its effect on their well-being in selected prisons in Ghana. Qualitative data was collected from 20 male inmates who, after ...residing for a time in the community, were thereafter reincarcerated. Findings indicate that these men were subjected to stigmatization and degrading treatment in the community, which limited their chances of securing lawful employment, establishing romantic relationships, and even maintaining platonic and family ties. As a result, this negatively impacted upon their mental well-being, leading some to substance abuse and suicide ideation. The article thereafter discusses policy and future research implications that arise from these findings.
Written-Off tells the story of how mental health stigma comes to have a profound impact on the lives of people diagnosed with mental illnesses. It reviews theory, research, and history - illustrated ...with a multitude of personal stories - in four major areas. These areas are: the prevalence and predictors of negative attitudes and behaviors toward mental illness, the impact of community attitudes and behaviors on the self-perceptions of people diagnosed with mental illness, the impact of self-perceptions on the community participation of people diagnosed with mental illness, and how to change self-perceptions through a variety of approaches.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of the population such as increased levels of anxiety, psychological distress, isolation, etc. Access to mental health services ...has been limited due to the "overflow" of demands. The Recovery College (RC) model, an education-based approach, has addressed this challenge and provided online well-being and mental health courses to at-risk populations. The RC model proposes a co-learning space in an adult education program where learners from diverse backgrounds collectively learn and empower themselves to better address psychological well-being and mental health issues. The aim of this study was to document the experience of learners who participated in online RC courses during the COVID-19 pandemic and the perceived impact of these courses on their mental health. A qualitative interpretative descriptive study design was employed, and Miles and Huberman's stepwise content analysis method was used to mine the data for themes. Fourteen structured online interviews were conducted with a sample representative of the diversity of learners. Five categories of themes emerged: (1) updating and validating your mental health knowledge, (2) taking care of yourself and your mental health, (3) improving and modifying your behaviors and practices, (4) changing how you look at yourself and others, and (5) interacting and connecting with others. Results suggest that online RC courses can be an effective strategy for supporting individual self-regulation and empowerment, breaking social isolation, and reducing the effects of stress in times of social confinement measures and limited access to care.
Newspapers that address mental disorders affect health care positively or negatively and can affect the public's perspective with the way they explain mental disorders.
To examine the representation ...of news about mental disorders published in Turkish newspapers.
Using the document analysis method, 230 news about mental disorders published in the six most read newspapers in 2022 were examined.
It has been concluded that the descriptive characteristics of individuals with mental disorders are often stated, schizophrenia and psychotic disorders are mentioned most, mental disorders are associated with delinquency and violent behaviour, these people are mostly represented by being detained as a result of the events, and negative concepts are frequently used in newspaper reports. Five sub-themes were determined under the main theme of "Negative Concepts": "Exaggerated Discourses", "Stigmatizing Discourses", "Discourses Targeting Mental Health", "Discourses That May Cause Negative Emotions", "Discourses Containing Misdescription".
Newspaper items about mental disorders are represented as stigmatizing and misleading by using negative concepts. The sensitivity of media workers, the development of mental health policies and cooperation with mental health workers contribute to the recovery process of individuals with mental disorders.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating chronic disease of significant public health and clinical importance. It affects multiple systems in the body and has ...neuro-immunological characteristics. The disease is characterized by a prominent symptom called post-exertional malaise (PEM), as well as abnormalities in the immune-inflammatory pathways, mitochondrial dysfunctions and disturbances in neuroendocrine pathways. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of ME/CFS on the mental health and secondary psychosocial manifestations of patients, as well as their coping mechanisms.
In 2021, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Switzerland. A self-administered paper questionnaire survey was used to gather data from 169 individuals diagnosed with ME/CFS.
The majority of the patients (90.5%) reported a lack of understanding of their disease, resulting in patients avoiding talking about the disease due to disbelief, trivialization and avoidance of negative reactions. They felt most supported by close family members (67.1%). Two thirds of the patients (68.5%) experienced stigmatization. ME/CFS had a negative impact on mental health in most patients (88.2%), leading to sadness (71%), hopelessness for relief (66.9%), suicidal thoughts (39.3%) and secondary depression (14.8%). Half of the male patients experienced at least one suicidal thought since clinical onset. Factors significantly associated with depression were the lack of cure, disabilities associated with ME/CFS, social isolation and the fact that life was not worth anymore with ME/CFS. The three main factors contributing to suicidal thoughts were (i) being told the disease was only psychosomatic (89.5%), (ii) being at the end of one's strength (80.7%) and (iii) not feeling being understood by others (80.7%).
This study provided first time significant insights into the mental and psychological well-being of ME/CFS patients in Switzerland. The findings highlight the substantial experiences of stigmatization, secondary depression and suicidal thoughts compared to other chronic diseases, calling for an urgent need in Switzerland to improve ME/CFS patient's medical, psychological and social support, in order to alleviate the severe mental health burden associated with this overlooked somatic disease.
•First time study on mental health and well-being among M/CFS patients in Switzerland.•High level (68.5%) of stigmatization reported due to ME/CFS.•Overall, ME/CFS led to a third of the patients and to half of the male patients to have suicidal thoughts.•ME/CFS led to secondary depression in 14.8% of the patients.•Lack of disease recognition and adequate patient support.
This research examined whether stigma diminishes people's ability to control their behaviors. Because coping with stigma requires self-regulation, and self-regulation is a limited-capacity resource, ...we predicted that individuals belonging to stigmatized groups are less able to regulate their own behavior when they become conscious of their stigmatizing status or enter threatening environments. Study 1 uncovered a correlation between stigma sensitivity and self-regulation; the more Black college students were sensitive to prejudice, the less self-control they reported having. By experimentally activating stigma, Studies 2 and 3 provided causal evidence for stigma's ego-depleting qualities: When their stigma was activated, stigmatized participants (Black students and females) showed impaired self-control in two very different domains (attentional and physical self-regulation). These results suggest that (a) stigma is ego depleting and (b) coping with it can weaken the ability to control and regulate one's behaviors in domains unrelated to the stigma.
Internalized stigma, adoption of negative attitudes and stereotypes of the society regarding persons' illness, has not been studied previously in pediatric psoriasis patients.
We aimed to investigate ...the internalized stigma in pediatric psoriasis patients and to determine differences according to factors affecting internalized stigma compared to adult psoriasis patients.
This multicenter, cross-sectional, comparative study included 125 pediatric (55 female, 70 male; mean age±standard deviation SD, 14.59±2.87 years) and 1,235 adult psoriasis patients (577 female, 658 male; mean age±SD, 43.3±13.7 years). Psoriasis Internalized Stigma Scale (PISS), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Perceived Health Status (PHS), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12 were the scales used in the study.
The mean PISS was 58.48±14.9 in pediatric group. When PISS subscales of groups were compared, the pediatric group had significantly higher stigma resistance (
=0.01) whereas adult group had higher scores of alienation (
=0.01) and stereotype endorsement (
=0.04). There was a strong correlation between mean values of PISS and DLQI (r=0.423,
=0.001). High internalized stigma scores had no relation to either the severity or localization of disease in pediatric group. However, poor PHS (
=0.007) and low-income levels (
=0.03) in both groups, and body mass index (r=0.181,
=0.04) in the pediatric group were related to high PISS scores.
Internalized stigma in pediatric patients is as high as adults and is related to poor quality of life, general health, and psychological illnesses. Unlike adults, internalized stigma was mainly determined by psoriasis per se, rather than disease severity or involvement of visible body parts, genitalia or folds.
Background:
Individuals with mental illness, as they are stigmatized by society, are also stigmatized themselves, and this process is internalized. This may adversely affect the recovery process.
...Aims:
This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between internalized stigmatization and subjective recovery in patients with schizophrenic.
Method:
This research was performed for patients with schizophrenia at rehabilitation centers registered with the community mental health center. The survey was performed out with 94 patients in the recovery phase who met the inclusion criteria and who going to the center. Sociodemographic information form, internalized stigmatization scale and subjective recovery assessment scale were used in the collection of data.
Results:
In the study it was found that there is a relationship between internalized stigmatization and subjective recovery. Increased levels of internalized stigma patient outcome would decrease the level of recovery.
Conclusion:
It is recommended that nurses perform intervention programs to reduce internalized stigmatization in patients with schizophrenia.
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