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PW01-209 - Implicit Self-Stigma In People With Mental Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2020

N. Rüsch ,
P.W. Corrigan ,
A.R. Todd  and
G.V. Bodenhausen
N. Rüsch
Affiliation:
Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany Joint Research Programs in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA
P.W. Corrigan
Affiliation:
Joint Research Programs in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA
A.R. Todd
Affiliation:
Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
G.V. Bodenhausen
Affiliation:
Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Abstract

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Objectives

People with mental illness often internalise negative stereotypes, resulting in self-stigma and low self-esteem (‘People with mental illness are bad and therefore I am bad, too’; Corrigan and Watson 2002, Rüsch et al 2006). Despite strong evidence for self-stigma's negative impact as assessed by selfreport measures, it is unclear whether self-stigma operates in an automatic, implicit manner, potentially outside conscious awareness and control.

Methods

We therefore assessed (i) negative implicit attitudes toward mental illness and (ii) low implicit self-esteem, using two Brief Implicit Association Tests (Sriram and Greenwald 2009) in 85 people with mental illness. Implicit self-stigma was operationalised as the product of both implicit measures. Explicit self-stigma and quality of life were assessed by self-report.

Results

Greater implicit and explicit self-stigma independently predicted lower quality of life after controlling for depressive symptoms, diagnosis, and demographic variables.

Conclusions

Implicit self-stigma is a measurable construct and is associated with negative outcomes. Attempts to reduce self-stigma (Knight et al 2006) should address implicit-automatic processes.

Type
Social psychiatry
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 25 , Issue S1: 18th European Congress of Psychiatry. February 27, March 2, 2010 - Munich, Germany , 2010 , 25-E1616
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2009

References

Corrigan, P.W. , Watson, A.C. The paradox of self-stigma and mental illness. Clinical Psychology:Science & Practice 2002; 9: 35–53Google Scholar
Knight, M.T.D. , Wykes, T. , Hayward, P. Group treatment of perceived stigma and self-esteem in schizophrenia: A waiting list trial of efficacy. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 2006; 34: 305–318Google Scholar
Rüsch, N. , Hölzer, A. , Hermann, C. , et al.Self-stigma in women with borderline personality disorder and women with social phobia. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease 2006; 194: 766–773Google Scholar
Sriram, N. , Greenwald, A.G. The Brief Implicit Association Test. Experimental Psychology 2009; 56: 283–294Google Scholar
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