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Stereotypes of mental disorders differ in competence and warmth

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  • Sadler, Melody S.
  • Meagor, Elizabeth L.
  • Kaye, Kimberly E.

Abstract

Theoretical models of public stigma toward mental illness have focused on factors that perpetuate stigma toward the general label of “mental illness” or toward a handful of specific illnesses, used more or less interchangeably. The current work used the Stereotype Content Model (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002) to examine how one facet of public stigma – stereotype content – differs as a function of specific mental illnesses. Participants were recruited online from across the U.S. Study 1 demonstrated that the overarching category of people with mental illness was perceived as relatively incompetent, but not very hostile (i.e., relatively warm). Study 2 found that when the general label of mental illness was separated into thirteen individual disorders, distinct stereotype content toward four clusters of illnesses emerged. One cluster, typified by illnesses with psychotic features (e.g., schizophrenia), was perceived to be hostile and incompetent. A second cluster, comprised of mood and anxiety disorders, was perceived as average on both competence and warmth. A third cluster of illnesses with neuro-cognitive deficits was thought to be warm but incompetent. The fourth cluster included groups with sociopathic tendencies and was viewed as hostile but relatively competent. The results clearly demonstrate that the stereotype content that underlies public stigma toward individual mental illnesses is not the same for all disorders. Harnessing knowledge of differing stereotype content toward clusters of mental illnesses may improve the efficacy of interventions to counteract public stigma.

Suggested Citation

  • Sadler, Melody S. & Meagor, Elizabeth L. & Kaye, Kimberly E., 2012. "Stereotypes of mental disorders differ in competence and warmth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 915-922.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:6:p:915-922
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.12.019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pescosolido, B.A. & Monahan, J. & Link, B.G. & Stueve, A. & Kikuzawa, S., 1999. "The public's view of the competence, dangerousness, and need for legal coercion of persons with mental health problems," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(9), pages 1339-1345.
    2. Link, B.G. & Phelan, J.C. & Bresnahan, M. & Stueve, A. & Pescosolido, B.A., 1999. "Public conceptions of mental illness: Labels, causes, dangerousness, and social distance," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(9), pages 1328-1333.
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    1. Katelyn E Mills & Zetta Han & Jesse Robbins & Daniel M Weary, 2018. "Institutional transparency improves public perception of lab animal technicians and support for animal research," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Kotzur, Patrick F. & Veit, Susanne & Namyslo, Annika & Holthausen, Mirka-Alicia & Wagner, Ulrich & Yemane, Ruta, 2020. "‘Society thinks they are cold and/or incompetent, but I do not’: Stereotype content ratings depend on instructions and the social group's location in the stereotype content space," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1018-1042.
    3. Bjørnshagen, Vegar, 2021. "The mark of mental health problems. A field experiment on hiring discrimination before and during COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    4. Easter, Michele M., 2012. "“Not all my fault”: Genetics, stigma, and personal responsibility for women with eating disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1408-1416.

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