Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013 Apr;48(4):659-71. doi: 10.1007/s00127-012-0532-7. Epub 2012 Jun 19.
Labeling research in various domains has found that attitudes and perceptions vary as a function of the different labels ascribed to a group (e.g., overweight vs. obese). This type of research, however, has not been examined extensively in regards to labels for mental disorders. The present study examined whether common psychiatric labels (i.e., mental disease, mental disorders, mental health problems, and mental illness) elicited divergent attitudes and perceptions in a group of participants. These labels were also compared to the specific label of depression.
Undergraduate psychology students (N = 124) were given identical questionnaire packages with the exception of the label used. That is, each participant received a set of questionnaires that referred to only one of the five labels. The questionnaire package contained various quantitative measures of attitudes and social distance, in addition to a short qualitative measure.
Analyses demonstrated equivalence among the four general psychiatric labels on measures of attitudes, social distance, and general perceptions. However, results also suggested that the general labels diverged from the depression label, with the latter being generally more negatively perceived. Some analyses demonstrated that participants' understanding of the terminology might be incorrect. The results of the investigation are discussed with a focus on its relationship with current research in stigma.
Within the current sample, general psychiatric labels did not appear to distinguish themselves from each other on measures of attitude and social distance but did so when compared to a relatively more specific term. Future research should examine the underlying mechanism driving this finding, with the ultimate goal of reducing the stigma faced by those with mental disorders.
在不同领域的研究发现，对群体的不同标签（如超重与肥胖）的态度和看法会有所不同。然而，这种研究在针对精神障碍的标签方面并没有得到广泛的研究。本研究检验了常见的精神疾病标签（即精神疾病、精神障碍、心理健康问题和精神疾病）是否会在一组参与者中引起不同的态度和看法。这些标签还与特定的抑郁标签进行了比较。
心理学专业的本科生（N=124）被给予了相同的问卷包，只是标签不同。也就是说，每个参与者都收到了一套只提到五个标签之一的问卷。问卷包中包含了各种态度和社会距离的定量测量，以及一个简短的定性测量。
分析表明，在态度、社会距离和一般看法的测量方面，四个一般精神疾病标签具有等效性。然而，结果也表明，一般标签与抑郁标签不同，后者的看法通常更为负面。一些分析表明，参与者对术语的理解可能是不正确的。该研究的结果与当前污名化研究的关系进行了讨论。
在当前的样本中，一般精神疾病标签在态度和社会距离的测量上似乎没有彼此区分开来，但与相对更具体的术语相比则有所区分。未来的研究应该检验驱动这一发现的潜在机制，最终目标是减少精神障碍患者所面临的污名。
