Measuring Stigma Toward Mental Illness: Development and Application of the Mental Illness Stigma Scale1

Guided by theory on stigma, a Likert‐type scale was developed to measure 7 factors of attitudes toward people with mental illness: interpersonal anxiety, relationship disruption, poor hygiene, visibility, treatability, professional efficacy, and recovery. The scale was validated among college students and community members, measuring attitudes toward people with mental illness, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. In a second application, college students completed the scale from their own perspective, then from an imagined perspective of someone with mental illness, while psychiatric patients completed the scale from their own perspective, then from an imagined viewpoint of someone without mental illness. Psychiatric patients assumed that they were stigmatized to a greater extent than was admitted by the student sample.     

The relationship between mental toughness and subjective mental illness recovery

Recently there has been an increasing interest in subjective mental illness recovery, and it has been recognised that there is an important role for characteristics such as self-efficacy and locus of control. Mental toughness describes a set of characteristics important for dealing with stress and pressure, and is comprised of challenge, commitment, control of emotion, control of life, confidence in abilities, and interpersonal confidence. The current study explored relationships between mental toughness and subjective mental illness recovery. Seventy-seven participants (nineteen males and fifty-eight females, the majority of which were young adults aged 18–21 years) who had previously recovered from, or were currently recovering from a mental illness (self-reported) completed questionnaire measures of mental toughness and subjective mental illness recovery. Mental toughness had a positive significant relationship to recovery, with particular roles for commitment and confidence in abilities. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for recovery-oriented practice, intervention, and measurement. Further research should examine the role of mental toughness in different aspects of subjective recovery, and also explore relationships with objective measures of recovery.     

Factors associated with perceived helpfulness and use of mental health websites by Australian young adults with a family history of mental illness

Young adults with a family history of mental illness may be vulnerable to develop mental health conditions based on genetic and environmental features. This study aimed to explore factors associated with the use of mental health websites for young adults aged 18–30 years who reported a family history of mental illness. Young adults (n = 469) who reported a family history of mental illness completed an online survey regarding their use of mental health websites, demographic questionnaires and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales. In total, 194 (41%) participants reported using mental health websites, with the majority using these for their own mental well-being (n = 156; 33%). Having a previous history of a mental health condition was associated with mental health website use, along with having a prior history of drug use and having more than one family member diagnosed with a mental illness.     

音乐治疗在消化内镜室的应用研究

在精神科领域,精神病患者及家属对精神疾病的认识存在许多误区。诸如：对精神疾病诊断、治疗的认识误区,对精神疾病病因的认识误区;对人际关系与社会功能的认识误区;对仪器设备检查过度迷信的认识误区等。为了保证精神病患者的诊断、治疗、康复的顺利进行,必须消除对精神疾病的认识误区,必须重视与加强精神科医患之间全方位有效沟通。     

Where the Rainbow Speaks and Catches the Sun

Abstract

Living with a neurobiological brain disorder, commonly known as a mental illness, requires a lifetime of diligent work toward recovery and wellness. This paper outlines the story of one occupational therapist's journey with her own mental illness. She prefers to call her own road of “recovery” one of “discovery,” as it has led her to discover true talents and gifts (strengths) even amongst encounters with old models that emphasize weaknesses and disability over abilities and capabilities. The following journey unfolds as advances in research, changes in services, increased focus on consumer as leader and increased tools and resources available lead the way toward a more positive ability to live a purposeful life, engaging in meaningful activities in spite of an illness. This paper gives a personal account as a tool to be used by other therapists as they travel along their own treatment journeyswhether with, or as consumers, of mental health services.     

Baptist senior pastors’ knowledge and perceptions of mental illness

Senior pastors at churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) were anonymously surveyed using an online questionnaire to ascertain their knowledge and perceptions of the causes and potential treatments of mental illness. BGCT senior pastors reported a moderate level of contact with the mentally ill and populations known to have higher than average rates of mental illness (e.g., homeless). They also reported that the individuals with whom they counsel are rarely diagnosed with mental illness. While Baptist senior pastors embraced biological causes and treatments for mental illness as most important and effective, they varied greatly across disorders as to the perceived contribution of psychosocial and spiritual factors. Senior pastors in the present study reported being open to referring their congregants to mental health care professionals with whom they shared common values. Overall, the results of the study point to a need for greater mental health education for Baptist clergy as well as opportunities for the development of increased collaboration between the mental health and faith communities.     

Comment on “The Self‐Care of Psychologists and Mental Health Professionals” (Dattilio, 2015)—Working With the Mentally Ill Is a Mental Health Hazard: What Can We Do About It?

It has been known for many decades that the risk of burnout, psychological distress, mental illness, or suicidal ideation is higher in mental health professionals (MHP) compared with many other professions and the general population; however, MHPs often disregard their own mental health for the sake of helping others, sometimes with fatal consequences. Paradoxically MHP tends to avoid seeking professional help for their own mental health issues. Apart from the serious risk to one's health that this poses, MHPs are now mandated to report any impairment that affects their ability to practice. The aim of this commentary is to emphasise the heightened risk of mental illness among MHP, and includes some risk factors associated with burnout, psychological distress, or mental illness in MHP. It explores some of the barriers to help seeking, including stigma, and highlights mindfulness as a self‐care strategy to prevent psychological distress and burnout. The commentary makes recommendations for inclusions into current psychology postgraduate as well as undergraduate curriculum. It concludes with recommendation for suitable support from professional bodies to help maintain good mental health and to help prevent mental illness among MHPs.     

The Relation Between Parental Mental Illness and Adolescent Mental Health: The Role of Family Factors

Children of parents with a mental illness are often found to be at high risk of developing psychological problems themselves. Little is known about the role of family factors in the relation between parental and adolescent mental health. The current study focused on parent–child interaction and family environment. This cross-sectional questionnaire study included 124 families with a mentally ill parent and 127 families without a mentally ill parent who at the time of the study had children aged 11–16 years old. Parents completed questionnaires about their mental health, parent–child interaction (i.e., parental monitoring and parental support), and family environment (i.e., cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict). Adolescents reported their internalizing and externalizing problems. Path analyses were used to examine the direct associations between parental mental illness and adolescent problems as well as the indirect relations via parent–child interaction and family environment. The results showed that interaction between parents with a mental illness and their child was significantly worse compared to parents without a mental illness. The family environment of parents with mental illness was also more negative. Mentally ill parents monitored their adolescents less, which in turn related to more externalizing problems of the adolescents. No factors mediated the relation between parental mental health and adolescent internalizing problems. Moreover, no direct effects of parental support, family cohesion, and family expressiveness with externalizing problems were found. These findings imply that parental monitoring should get a specific focus of attention in existing interventions designed to prevent adolescents with a mentally ill parent from developing problems.     

Demon or disorder: A survey of attitudes toward mental illness in the Christian church

The present study assessed the attitudes and beliefs that mentally ill Christians encountered when they seek counsel from the church. Participants (n?=?293) completed an anonymous online survey in relation to their interactions with the church. Analysis of the results found that while a majority of the mentally ill participants were accepted by the church, approximately 30% reported a negative interaction. Negative interactions included abandonment by the church, equating mental illness with the work of demons, and suggesting that the mental disorder was the result of personal sin. Analysis of the data by gender found that women were significantly more likely than men to have their mental illness dismissed by the church and/or be told not to take psychiatric medication. Given that a religious support system can play a vital role in recovery from serious mental disorders, these results suggest that continued education is needed to bring the Christian and mental health communities together.     

Consumer satisfaction and attributions of improvement among fully recovered schizophrenics

As people with serious mental illness are viewed as consumers rather than patients, their views and needs are increasingly seen as essential to the treatment process. The aim of the present study is to add valuable knowledge about how to help patients by reporting what fully recovered schizophrenics, as consumers, had found helpful in their treatment as well as which factors contributed to their recovery. In addition to a semistructured interview, two instruments were used: the "UCLA Social Attainment Survey Premorbid Adjustment Scale" (SASPAS) to measure patients' premorbid adjustment and the "Global Assessment Scale" (GAS) to obtain an assessment of the present general functioning of the subjects. The results showed that a majority of the recovered subjects emphasized their own will-power and the human qualities in their therapists as helpful to them in the process towards recovery. The therapeutic relationships were characterized by the kindling and sustaining of hope in the clients.     

Prebirth and postbirth influence on the relationship between creative ability and recorded mental illness1

Groups of 10 high, 20 above average, and 20 low creative ability subjects were constituted by interjudge agreement from among an adult population who were removed from their biological parents and adopted shortly after birth. The adoptees thus received prebirth influence from their biological relatives and postbirth influence from then: adoptive relatives The rates of recorded mental illness were determined among the adoptees, their biological parents and siblings, and their adoptive parents and siblings Mental illness rates in the adoptees were positively and significantly related to their creative ability level, substantiating the hypothesized relationship between creative ability and mental illness. The mental illness rates of the biological parents were positively and significantly related to the creative ability level of the adoptees. Mental illness rates among the adoptive parents and the adoptive and biological siblings were independent of the adoptees’ creative ability level. The data were interpreted as evidence for the influence of prebirth factors on the relationship between creative ability and mental illness No evidence of family-related postbirth influence was found An evaluation of mental illness rates among uncooperative (nonresponding) potential subjects and their relatives suggested that noncooperation by these adoptees produced a dampening effect on the results of the study.     

Adolescents' Attitudes About the Role of Mental Illness in Suicide,and Their Association with Suicide Risk

We examined teenagers' attitudes about the role of mental illness in suicidal behavior and the relationship between these attitudes and suicide risk. Serious suicidal ideation or behavior and associated risk factors (gender, depression, substance problems, and first‐hand experience with a suicidal peer) were assessed in 2,419 students at six New York high schools. Less than one fifth of students thought that mental illness was a major contributor to suicide. Suicidal adolescents and those at risk were less likely than their nonsuicidal and low‐risk counterparts to associate suicide with mental illness. Our findings contribute to the debate over whether accepting attitudes toward suicide increase suicide risk.     

Stigma as a barrier to recovery from mental illness

Advances in neuroscience, technology and research sophistication have greatly increased understanding of mental illnesses and improved the treatment of these disorders. However, there are also important psychosocial aspects of mental illness that play a significant role in recovery from these conditions. One set of these factors involves the prejudice and discrimination, often referred to as 'stigma', faced by people when others learn that they have been diagnosed with, and/or treated for, a mental disorder.     

Crying wolf? Australian adolescents’ perceptions of the ambiguity of visible indicators of mental health and authenticity of mental illness

Young people’s perspectives about mental health concepts shape both their interactions with sufferers of mental illness and their actions related to their own mental health. The current study employed a cross-sectional qualitative design to explore how adolescents (aged 12–18 years) speak about mental health and illness in order to gain insight into young people’s perceptions and experiences and contribute to shaping approaches to policy and practice. When discussing mental health concepts and appropriate behaviours toward sufferers of mental illness, adolescents conveyed a sense of acceptance and understanding of the potential complexity and severity of mental health problems. In contrast, when discussing mental health in the context of their own lives, a stronger sense of scepticism was conveyed, with students expressing difficulty with the lack of visible markers of mental health and confusion determining authenticity in the mental health states conveyed by their peers. Interestingly, adolescents interviewed commonly conveyed the notion that young people may exaggerate or “fake” a mental illness for personal gain. Adolescent perceptions of mental health and illness hold practical implications for policy and school-based programs aimed at improving mental health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours among youth.     

Stigma by Association Among Family Members of People with a Mental Illness: A Qualitative Analysis

People with mental illness are not the sole recipients of stigmatisation; their immediate family members may be subjected to stigma by association. Through semi‐structured interviews, we investigated experiences of stigma by association among 23 immediate family members of people with mental illness. Participants reported experiencing stigma by association from community members, mental health professionals, and civil servants. Familial relationship, co‐residence, and the gender of participants appeared to play a role in their stigma experiences; parents and spouses reported different manifestations of stigma by association than siblings and children, participants who lived together with their family member with mental illness reported increased experiences of stigma by association, and in contrast to male participants, female participants reported others thinking they are overprotective and as such perpetuated, maintained, or sustained their family members' mental illness. The relevance of these factors points to the need for tailored education and emotional support provision to family members of people with mental illness. Moreover, in‐service training for mental health professionals should include the development of relevant social skills that enable the recognition of familial relationships and roles, and family members' fears, concerns, and problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Social Ecological Approach to Investigating Relationships Between Housing and Adaptive Functioning for Persons with Serious Mental Illness

This paper seeks to advance mental health—housing research regarding which factors of housing and neighborhood environments are critical for adaptive functioning, health, and recovery for persons with serious mental illness (SMI). Housing and neighborhood environments are particularly important for persons with SMI because of the prevalence of poor housing conditions among this population. Most mental health—housing research has been limited by a focus on problems in environments and functioning. The paper seeks to expand the mental health—housing research agenda to consider protective factors that promote community integration and adaptive functioning. We provide an account of how social ecology theory transformed a research program, from examining individual risk factors to investigating the functioning of persons in the contexts of their housing and neighborhood experiences. The resulting housing environment framework—physical aspects of housing and neighborhoods, social environment of neighborhoods, and interpersonal relationships tied to housing—allows for identification of opportunities for health promotion and facilitation of participation in community-based settings. This program of research draws upon several methods to understand the social experience of persons with SMI living in community settings—survey research, qualitative interviews, Geographic Information Systems, participatory research, and visual ethnography. In this paper, we present how social ecology theory was instrumental in the development of new housing environment measures, the selection of appropriate research methods, and framing research questions that are building a new empirical base of knowledge about promoting adaptive functioning, health, and recovery for persons with SMI living in community settings.     

Moving Beyond the Illness: Factors Contributing to Gaining and Maintaining Employment

The work presented here, exploratory in nature, uses a comparative and qualitative approach to understand the factors associated with the ability of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness to successfully gain and maintain employment. Based on open-ended interviews with individuals in an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program, we compare the experiences of those who have been successful gaining and maintaining employment, with those who have been successful gaining but not maintaining work, and those who have been unsuccessful gaining employment. The three groups seemed to differ in three significant ways: (1) in the ways the individuals talked about their illness, (2) in the ways the individuals talked about work, and (3) in the strategies they described for coping with bad days. In each of these areas individuals' awareness of and attitude toward their illness was significant. The findings have clear implications for agencies working to help people with severe and persistent mental illness obtain and maintain employment.     

中国国民心理健康素养的现状与特点

本研究以系统的全国抽样调查方式, 了解我国国民心理健康素养现状。结果显示, 我国成年公众的心理健康素养总体处于中偏低水平; 其发展水平在地域、人口学分布上比较均衡; 在结构上, 公众心理健康素养的发展表现出心理健康维护和促进的素养高于心理疾病应对的素养, 自助的素养高于助人的素养两个特点。调查还发现, 个体心理健康素养中, 知识观念部分个体差异较大, 态度和习惯部分个体差异较小; 在心理健康素养的社会性影响因素方面, 社会经济地位是所考察变量中效应最大的因素, 且其对素养的知识观念方面影响较大, 对素养的态度习惯方面影响较小。调查结果提示, 要充分认识心理健康素养提升任务的艰巨性; 在实践策略上, 宜以提升心理疾病应对的素养作为当前的工作重点和突破口。     

Couples with Schizophrenia "Becoming like Others" in South Korea: Marriage as Part of a Recovery Process

Very little is known about the married life of couples with schizophrenia. In this paper, authors report perceptions and experiences of 5 married couples with schizophrenia on their strategies in forming and maintaining healthy marriage. Our data reveal that participants had realistic expectations of marriage, and recognized benefits as well as obstacles in their marriages with respect to their recovery. This paper examines the importance of extended family members, mental health professionals, and the larger society's attitudes toward marriage as a factor in the recovery process for persons with schizophrenia. The authors identify implications for mental health professionals regarding the respect of client dignity and the applicability of a strengths perspective when working with couples with schizophrenia. The authors argue that mental health professionals' decisions regarding the balance between respecting a client's self-determination and protecting a client from risks associated with cohabitation and marriage should no longer be a dilemma for those working with people with mental illness.