Books, Articles and Research
Mental disorders stigma in the media: review of studies on production, content, and influences
This article analyzes two decades of research regarding the mass media's role in shaping, perpetuating, and reducing the stigma of mental illness. It concentrates on three broad areas common in media inquiry: production, representation, and audiences. The analysis reveals that descriptions of mental illness and the mentally ill are distorted due to inaccuracies, exaggerations, or misinformation.
Stigma as related to mental disorders
The authors begins this review with a multidisciplinary discussion of mechanisms underlying the strong propensity to devalue individuals displaying both deviant behavior and the label of mental illness. The article concludes with a brief review of multilevel efforts to overcome mental illness stigma, spanning policy and legislation, alterations in media depictions, changed attitudes and practices among mental health professionals, contact and empathy enhancement, and family and individual treatment.
Newspaper reporting on schizophrenia: A content analysis of five national newspapers at two time points
This study aimed to assess change in the quality of reporting of schizophrenia in UK national daily newspapers, comparing 1996 with 2005. There is little evidence that the quality of reporting of schizophrenia has changed over time. This suggests a need for the implementation of effective measures to bring newspaper reporting in line with current guidelines.
Newspaper coverage of mental illness: Is it changing?
This article suggests the importance of understanding what the media reports about mental illnesses. The current study looked at 300 newspaper articles containing the key phrase ?mental illness? from 6 different newspapers for 1989 and for 1999. Each article was read and rated with respect to a variety of elements, including what specific disorders were named, what the main themes of each article were, and what was the overall tone of the article.
Beat the stigma and discrimination! Four lessons for mental health advocates
This handbook focuses on correcting the disparity and increasing both opportunities and resources for people with mental illnesses by reviewing ways in which negative public attitudes might be reduced and more appropriate attitudes might be enhanced. Contact ADS Center staff to request a copy.
News media portrayal of mental illness
A study of 1999 newspapers revealed that dangerousness is the most common theme of stories about mental illnesses. In contrast, stories of recovery or accomplishment were found to be rare. The ratio of negative to positive stories involving mental illness decreased between 1989 and 1999, but negative stories continued to far outnumber positive ones. The potential influence of these patterns of news coverage on public attitudes and public policy are discussed.
Mass media and mental illness: A literature review
Public perceptions of mental illness are shaped by the news and entertainment media. This paper highlights studies that provide evidence to support five hypotheses.
Violence and mental illness: Media keep myths alive
While the media?s portrayal of mentally ill people is still often inaccurate and stigmatizing, efforts to counterbalance popular stereotypes are beginning to pay off. This opinion article addresses how efforts to counterbalance popular stereotypes of mental illness are becoming successful in changing viewpoints.
Media portrayal of mental illness and its treatments: What effect does it have on people with mental illness?
This article reviews dominant media portrayals of mental illness, the mentally ill, and mental health interventions, and examines what social, emotional and treatment-related effects these may have.
Reaching out to high school youth: The effectiveness of a video-based antistigma program
This study evaluted the impact on Canadian high school students of a video-based antistigma program portraying real life experiences of individuals with schizophrenia. It also includes lesson plans to guide classroom discussions and active learning.
On-screen portrayals of mental illness: Extent, nature, and impacts
This article reviews the published literature on the extent, nature, and impacts of portrayal of mental illness in fictional films and television programs.
Homicidal maniacs and narcissistic parasites: stigmatization of mentally ill persons in the movies
The portrayal of mentally ill persons in movies and television programs has an important and underestimated influence on public perceptions of their condition and care. The authors suggest that mental health professionals can fight this source of stigma by increasing their collaboration with patient advocacy groups in monitoring negative portrayals of mentally ill people,
Impact of a television film on attitudes toward mental illness
This tudy investigated the impact of a prime time television film portraying a mentally ill killer on public attitdues of college students.
Mental illness depictions in prime-time drama: Identifying the discursive resources
The aim of this study was to determine how the mentally ill are depicted in prime-time television dramas.
Mentally ill are often victims of violent crime
A British study demonstrates that, contrary to media stereotypes and the rhetoric of forced treatment advocates, people with psychiatric disabilities are far more apt to be victims, not perpetrators of violent crime.
Addressing media stigma for people experiencing mental illness using an entertainment-education strategy
This study examines the effects of Entertainment-Education strategy on knowledge acquisition about schizophrenia and stigma reduction, using pretest posttest control group and 2 X 3 (advocate's perspective X message style) between-subjects factorial design.
Relation of peer and media influences to the development of purging behaviors among preadolescent and adolescent girls
Study conducted to assess prospectively the relation of peer and media influences on the risk of development of purging behaviors.
Newspaper representations of mental illness and the impact of reporting of 'events; on social policy: The 'framing' of Isabel Schwarz and Jonathan Zito
This paper critically examines the potential significance of the way in which responsibility for events is constructed for social policy by means of a discourse analysis, inspired by the genealogical work of Michel Foucault. It uses the device of "frames" (originally developed by Goffman) to explore the nature of newspaper coverage of two deaths to which causal responsibility for changes in the nature of English social policy in mental health has been attributed.
Migration, mental illness and Terry Watada's "The Tale of the Mask"
This article provides an extended synopsis and review of the play, "The Tale of the Mask by Terry Watada." The play addresses the topics of multiculturalism in Canada, attitudes toward mental illness, social discrimination and stigma, and Canadian mental health sevices.
Media, madness and misrepresentation: Critical reflections on anti-stigma discourse
This article argues that while much of this work has been invaluable in identifying unsatisfactory media representations of madness, it also contains certain argumentational and theoretical weaknesses. Anti-stigma discourse, it is claimed, tends to homogenize the texts it examines and can even contribute to the stigmatization of popular culture.
Appropriate language in discussing mental illness
A brief article discussing the use of appropriate language, when discussing mental illnesses. Following these suggestions can help to communicate acceptance and understanding.
Media representation of people with mental health problems
This article reviews the literature concerning the media portrayal of mental health issues. It also looks at what is being done in England to try and combat the stigma associated with mental health problems.
Has the media influenced public attitudes to schizophrenia?
A opinion article discussing the effects of stigmatizing media images on the manner in which mental illness is viewed by the general public. The survey found there was much work to do to improve the public understanding of the disease. Part of that work must start with a greater examination of how the media and the entertainment industry portray mental illness.
People never see us living well: An appraisal of the personal stories about mental illness in a prospective print media sample
Having found no discussions of self-depictions offered by psychiatric patients in the mass media, researchers sought such items in a prospective national sample of print media and analysed how those speakers portrayed themselves.
Challenging stigma and discrimination in communities: A focus group study identifying UK mental health services users' main campaign priorities
This study was conducted to explore mental health service users' views on how campaigns to address stigma and discrimination should prioritise their actions
Images of mental illness in the media: Identifying gaps in the research
This article summarizes research published over the past decade and identifies areas where future research is needed to increase our knowledge of the media's role in fostering or reducing mental illness stigma.
Use of schizophrenia as a metaphor in U.S. newspapers
Research has identified misleading and stigmatizing popular beliefs about schizophrenia, but little is known about media images corresponding to these beliefs. Building on Susan Sontag's exploration of cancer in the 1978 book Illness as Metaphor, the authors hypothesize that "schizophrenia" is now more commonly misused.
Spanish schizophrenic poet lauded
An article discussing the work and accomplishments of Spanish poet, Leopoldo Maria Panero, who also suffers from mental illness.
The infinite mind: Mental illness and the media
This recorded program explores links between the mainly negative portrayals of people with mental illnesses in the media and widespread discrimination against those affected by these illnesses. Guests include professionals in field of stigma related research, a mental health consumer, and various individuals involved with the media.
Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness
This book ?describes and illustrates the ways mass media depict people with mental illnesses." It also discusses the impact of media stereotypes of mental illness, provides facts about mental illness, and gives examples of efforts to improve media portrayal of mental illness.
Mass media and mental illness stigma
This brief article outlines the stereotyped, negative characteristics of mental illness as portrayed by the mass media. Wahl urges concerned individuals to educate writers, producers, advertisers and editors by writing or calling them to express concerns about diseminating inaacurate and potentialy harmful information. [Contact O.Wahl directly for copy]
Media 'unfairly stigmatises mental illness'
This article discusses a survey of the British population undertaken by the charity Mind (UK) and the negative coverage of mental illness in British tabloid newspapers.
The media and mental illness
Overview of the coverage of mental illness and how it affects the advocates' battle to counter stigma.
Mental illness -- Chinese style
The purpose of this article is to examine the specific factors that lead to the social stigma towards mental illness in the Chinese community at large. The media is cited as playing an integral role.
Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: II. The impact of information on dangerousness
This study addressed a relatively neglected topic in schizophrenia: identifying methods to reduce stigma directed toward individuals with this disorder. The study investigated whether presentation of information describing the association between violent behavior and schizophrenia could affect subjects' impressions of the dangerousness of both a target person with schizophrenia and individuals with mental illness in general.
Myths about Madness: Challenging stigma and changing attitudes
This video training tool exposes the myths surrounding afflictions of the mind and challenges discrimination against the mentally ill. It includes interviews with mental health professionals, journalists, researchers, and people who have themselves been through the mental health system.
Mental illness and the media
Stigmatising opinions about mental illness are more common among young people than older people (Yarney, 1999). Whether the media should carry responsibility for this was the subject of the College's 13th Christmas Lecture for Young People. Over 300 children gathered in central London to take part in a debate on the role of the media in the portrayal of mental illness.