According to a recent study, people with depression experience less discrimination and hostility in the United States. However, researchers have noted an increase in negative attitudes towards people with schizophrenia and alcoholism. ” [S]the stigma towards people with depression has decreased considerably, ”observed researchers at Indiana University. But it is unique to depression because “levels of stigma for other mental illnesses have remained stagnant and, in some cases, have increased,” say the experts in their study published in JAMA. Open network. “Stigma translates into so many issues, including the reluctance of people to seek care, our shortage of mental health professionals, and the reluctance of the United States to invest resources in the mental health sector,” says Bernice. Pescosolido, co-author of the study and emeritus professor of sociology. at IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences.
To measure the rate of mental illness stigma in the United States, researchers analyzed responses from more than 4,100 adults collected in national stigma surveys conducted between 1996 and 2018.
Between 1996 and 2006, Americans report being “more and more convinced that mental health problems are caused by genetics or brain disturbances, rather than by moral causes.” when “fewer Americans … expressed reluctance to interact with people described as having major depression.”
“It is encouraging to find more progressive attitudes towards mental illness among millennials,” noted Brea Perry, study co-author and professor of sociology at IU. She lamented that there is still a lot of progress to be made regarding the stigma of schizophrenia and alcohol dependence.
The researchers recommend introducing concepts at school to improve knowledge regarding mental illnesses and thus limit stigma in the future.
In recent years, several celebrities have spoken publicly regarding their own struggles with depression, including Demi Lovato, Pete Davidson, Taraji P.Henson and Justin Bieber.
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