Who Stigmatizes Mental Illness Most?

By John M Grohol PsyD
September 8, 2008

We’ve long known there are societal perception barriers — stigma and mistrust — associated with mental disorders and getting treatment for them. But are these barriers stronger for some people more than others?

It turns out, the answer is, “Yes.” The people with the biggest mistrust of the mental health care system and the least likely to seek help from it? White males.

In addition, researchers found that non-Latino white males were also the most likely to stigmatize mental illness and mental health concerns.

The study was conducted by two National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral fellows in mental health care policy at Harvard Medical School and examined data from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the U.S. The researchers investigated the effect of gender, race and socioeconomic status on these psychosocial barriers to mental health care.

The findings suggest that non-Latino white males, compared to all women and men of other ethnicities, were most likely to mistrust the mental health care system and were also likely to perceive mental illness as a stigma and therefore avoid formal mental health care. Regardless of race and gender, those respondents with low income and low education were least likely to report negative attitudes towards care.

Reference:

Ojeda, V.D. & Bergstresser, S.M. (2008). Gender, Race-Ethnicity, and Psychosocial Barriers to Mental Health Care: An Examination of Perceptions and Attitudes among Adults Reporting Unmet Need. Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.