Question

What are the best ways for stigmatized people to maintain positive psychological attitudes?

Answer 1

The first strategy to fight stigma originates from the belief that stigma is related to poor factual knowledge about mental illness and seeks to inform the general public and health professionals by replacing inaccurate stereotypes and false assumptions of mental illness with facts and accurate conceptions about the illness. The limitations of this kind of intervention are that many stereotypes are resilient to change , and it has been argued that education modifies literacy and, sometimes, attitudes, but rarely behavior. The second strategy aims to change negative attitudes toward the mentally ill through direct interactions with affected persons. Direct and face-to-face interactions are examples of contact interventions . Contact appears to be the most promising strategy for reducing stigma , especially when contact is one-on-one: when people are seen as having equal status and when people are working together in a cooperative rather than competitive manner. However, reducing stigma through contact is time-consuming and may not be cost efficient . Also, the efficacy of this strategy seems to depend on the context and the nature of the contact. The third strategy works on conveying messages to report and to believe reported negative and inaccurate representations of mental illness. Advocacy activities, educational support groups, and patient empowerment groups are examples of interventions within the protest strategy. This kind of strategy is usually effective in diminishing negative attitudes about mental illness but it fails to promote more positive attitudes supported by facts. Also, a rebound effect may occur and can be observed in the stigmatizing beliefs of the public meaning that protest does not necessarily change people’s prejudice about mental illness. The challenge of combating stigma is still prominent in the mental health field and much more needs are to be done. The fight against stigma is a complex endeavor, with multifaceted implications, and must be examined from multiple perspectives (e.g., mentally ill individuals, their families, and healthcare professionals) to increase knowledge and experience about the best strategies for antistigma campaigns. Few studies focusing on those having mental illness, relatives or mental health practitioners, have been published and there is a paucity of research using everyday life settings for examining strategies to fight stigma. Most efforts have focused on directly improving community attitudes even though it seems relevant that antistigma programs would also address patients and their relatives. Studies conducted in this manner reported few suggestions, which were mainly concerned with improving information on mental health issues for the public