Self-stigma and the “why try” effect: impact on life goals and evidence-based practices

The abstract of an article published in the June 2009 edition of World Psychiatry:

By Patrick W. Corrigan, Jonathon E. Larson, and Nicolas Rüsch

Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616, USA

Many individuals with mental illnesses are troubled by self-stigma and the subsequent processes that accompany this stigma: low self-esteem and self-efficacy. “Why try” is the overarching phenomenon of interest here, encompassing self-stigma, mediating processes, and their effect on goal-related behavior. In this paper, the literature that explains “why try” is reviewed, with special focus on social psychological models. Self-stigma comprises three steps: awareness of the stereotype, agreement with it, and applying it to one’s self. As a result of these processes, people suffer reduced self-esteem and self-efficacy. People are dissuaded from pursuing the kind of opportunities that are fundamental to achieving life goals because of diminished self-esteem and self-efficacy. People may also avoid accessing and using evidence-based practices that help achieve these goals. The effects of self-stigma and the “why try” effect can be diminished by services that promote consumer empowerment.

Keywords: Self-stigma, mental illness, public stigma, self-esteem, self-efficacy, empowerment

To download the entire article (PDF), please click here.

Posting of this abstract is for the purposes of research into mental illness and self-stigma.

Self-Stigma in People With Mental Illness

An article published in the November 2007 issue of Schizophrenia Bulletin:

By Amy C. Watson (1), Patrick Corrigan (2), Jonathon E. Larson (2), and Molly Sells (3)

1. Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago
2. Joint Research Programs in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Illinois Institute of Technology
3. University of Chicago
   

Persons with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia may internalize mental illness stigma and experience diminished self-esteem and self-efficacy. In this article, we describe a model of self-stigma and examine a hierarchy of mediational processes within the model.

Seventy-one individuals with serious mental illness were recruited from a community support program at an outpatient psychiatry department of a community hospital. All participants completed the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale along with measures of group identification (GI), perceived legitimacy (PL), self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Models examining the steps involved in self-stigma process were tested. Specifically, after conducting preliminary bivariate analyses, we examine stereotype agreement as a mediator of GI and PL on stigma self-concurrence (SSC); SSC as a mediator of GI and PL on self-efficacy; and SSC as a mediator of GI and PL on self-esteem.

Findings provide partial support for the proposed mediational processes and point to GI, PL, and stereotype agreement as areas to be considered for intervention.

To download the full text of this article, please click here (PDF).

Posting of this abstract is for the purposes of research into schizophrenia and self-stigma.

Also see:

An Anti-Stigma Approach to Working with Persons with Severe Mental Disability: Seeking Real Change Through Narrative Change (Journal of Social Work Practice, March 1st, 2009)

A Google Scholar search for "self-stigma" & "mental illness"