The US surgeon general once stated that ‘stigma tragically deprives people of their dignity
and interferes with their full participation in society’. [13,2] Everybody has their opinions about
what stigma is, and what causes it. Wahl stated in his findings that 'decades of research has
established that the public holds inaccurate negative beliefs about those with mental illnesses
as dangerous, unpredictable, unattractive, unworthy, and unlikely ever to be productive members
of their communities'. [2]
I believe this is a good summary of the generalized stigma public generally holds with regards to the mentally ill. One of the questions this raised for me was how this stigma appears in adults. Adults are perfectly capable of forming
their own opinions, but research has shown that viewpoints are made up over time, usually starting with material they are exposed
to as children. Scheff was one of the pioneers in the investigation of the stigma of mental illness. He suggested that
‘the literal meaning of crazy ... is probably grasped by children during the first years of elementary school’ [14] If children that young know what "crazy" means with regards to an individual, those people in society
would then be seen as unfavourable compared to others in society.
Before American children begin grade one, it is speculated they have already spent 3 grade years
watching television.[2] This surely indicates that from a young age, media is very important.
Which leads me to my next question...
and interferes with their full participation in society’. [13,2] Everybody has their opinions about
what stigma is, and what causes it. Wahl stated in his findings that 'decades of research has
established that the public holds inaccurate negative beliefs about those with mental illnesses
as dangerous, unpredictable, unattractive, unworthy, and unlikely ever to be productive members
of their communities'. [2]
I believe this is a good summary of the generalized stigma public generally holds with regards to the mentally ill. One of the questions this raised for me was how this stigma appears in adults. Adults are perfectly capable of forming
their own opinions, but research has shown that viewpoints are made up over time, usually starting with material they are exposed
to as children. Scheff was one of the pioneers in the investigation of the stigma of mental illness. He suggested that
‘the literal meaning of crazy ... is probably grasped by children during the first years of elementary school’ [14] If children that young know what "crazy" means with regards to an individual, those people in society
would then be seen as unfavourable compared to others in society.
Before American children begin grade one, it is speculated they have already spent 3 grade years
watching television.[2] This surely indicates that from a young age, media is very important.
Which leads me to my next question...