Department of Communication & Theatre, Montana State University Billings, Billings, MT 59102, USA.
Department of Psychology, Montana State University Billings, Billings, MT 59102, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jan 26;16(3):352. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16030352.
Stigma against suicidal ideation and help-seeking is a significant barrier to prevention. Little detail is provided on what types of stigma interfere with help-seeking, how stigma is expressed, and how to reduce it. Five groups of two ethnically diverse community theatre programs were formed to analyze differences in Eastern Montana Caucasian and Native American adolescents and young adults' experiences with stigma about mental illness and mental health treatment that affect help-seeking for suicidal thoughts and experiences. Over a ten-week period, a grassroots theatre project was used to recruit members from the same population as the audience to write and perform a play on suicide and depression ( = 33; 10 males, 23 females; 12 Native American, 21 Caucasian, ages 14⁻24). Using textual analysis, the community- and campus-based performance scripts were coded for themes related to stigma. Both ethnic groups reported that stigma is a barrier to expressing emotional vulnerability, seeking help, and acknowledging mental illness. We found that Caucasians' experiences were more individually oriented and Native Americans' experiences were more collectively oriented. Understanding the cultural bases of experiences with stigma related to mental health treatment for suicide is necessary to create educational programs to reduce stigma for diverse groups of adolescents and young adults.
针对自杀意念和寻求帮助的污名化是预防的一个重大障碍。关于哪些类型的污名会干扰寻求帮助、污名是如何表达的以及如何减少污名，提供的细节很少。组建了五组两个族裔多元化的社区戏剧项目，以分析蒙大拿州东部白人和美国原住民青少年和年轻人在与心理健康和治疗相关的污名方面的经历差异，这些污名会影响他们对自杀想法和经历的寻求帮助。在十周的时间里，利用基层戏剧项目从与观众相同的人群中招募成员，编写并演出一部关于自杀和抑郁的戏剧（=33；10 名男性，23 名女性；12 名美国原住民，21 名白人，年龄在 14 到 24 岁之间）。使用文本分析，对基于社区和校园的表演剧本进行了与污名相关的主题编码。两个族裔群体都报告说，污名是表达情感脆弱、寻求帮助和承认精神疾病的障碍。我们发现，白种人的经历更侧重于个人，而美国原住民的经历则更侧重于集体。了解与自杀心理健康治疗相关的污名化的文化基础，对于为不同群体的青少年和年轻人制定减少污名的教育计划是必要的。
