Self Stigma Research Paper

Public stigma & Self-Stigma Research have suggested that many psychological problems go undetected because distressed individuals often conceal their difficulties from the public. This type of behavior is particularly common among children and adolescents because of their elevated levels of self-consciousness.(35) It is not surprising that these teenagers are reluctant to make their difficulties known to the public.(35) Moreover, in addition to hiding symptoms of mental illnesses e.g. depression, perfectionistic youths tend to engage in displays of positive emotion in order to present themselves as happy, healthy individuals.(35) This condition is typically referred to as “smiling depression” or “disguised depression”.(35) Individuals …show more content…
Contact, education, and protest are core elements in one influential stigma reduction theory.(41) Contact involves video or direct, in-person contact with people with mental illness. Educational approaches to reducing mental health stigma aim to provide factual information about mental illness (e.g. depression) and recovery to replace inaccurate stereotypes and beliefs and to increase affirming attitudes (e.g., about recovery, empowerment, social inclusion). There is some evidence in favor of education, and studies on the effect of contact strategies on stigma reduction have also yielded promising findings.(42, 43) But protest, which involves identifying instances of prejudice or discrimination, publicizing them, and speaking out against them, can be ineffective or even result in increased discrimination because of the increased focus on instances where it occurs.(44) Research suggests that the protest approach to stigma reduction can produce a “rebound” effect, causing an increase in prejudice against a given group.(45) Perhaps for this reason, there appears to be increasing focus on building supportive networks or empowering people with depression through intervention efforts and less emphasis on protesting against