Public stigma surrounding mental illness occurs when members of the greater community endorse negative stereotypes of individuals with mental illnesses, such as dangerousness, blameworthiness and incompetence (Jones, Farina, Hastorf, Markus, Miller, & Scott, 1984). While public stigma and self-stigma are interrelated, with public stigma causing individuals to internalise stereotypes and suffer from low self-esteem and low self-efficacy, self-stigma can be distinguished as it relates to personal stigma an individual experiences as a result of being diagnosed with a mental illness, i.e. their internal locus of judgment, rather than external stigma imposed upon them by society. Additionally, social stigma leads to discrimination …show more content…
the contact strategy, involves interpersonal contact between individuals with mental illnesses and members of the wider community, such as psychologists, employers and teachers.
The methodology for this strategy is essentially encouraging or facilitating contact between individuals with mental illnesses, and the public e.g. teachers, classmates, psychologists and members of parliament. This can occur in either group settings or one-on-one and can occur over a number of sessions or one-off sessions. The participants may be required to engage in a discussion on a variety of topics or work together towards a common goal. Further, imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is an indirect form of the contact strategy which does not require as many resources as it consists of the aforementioned methodology, however in an imagined scenario, which produces significant results in reducing public stigma surrounding mental illness (Miles & Crisp, 2004). It is also quicker, more affordable, and more easily disseminated to a greater number of people, such as through the internet, especially those in remote areas and those with inadequate resources, holding profound potential for future strategy