Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Lewis College of Human Sciences, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Ment Health. 2021 Aug;30(4):417-423. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2019.1581351. Epub 2019 Mar 12.
People with mental illness are viewed as different from the general population resulting in public stigma. When public stigma becomes internalized, it leads to self-stigma. The most distal stage of self-stigma is harm which can lead to negative self-concepts that inhibit recovery.
This study examines how perceptions of "differentness" reflect self-stigma. We developed the Differentness Self-Stigma Scale (DSSS) to assess four regressive stages of self-stigma - awareness, agreement, application, and harm - and aimed to see whether DSSS scores predict self-stigma more effectively than the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (SSMIS).
Participants with lived experience ( = 291) completed a survey including the DSSS, SSMIS and outcomes assessing depression, self-esteem, recovery and the "why try" effect.
DSSS scores differed significantly from the SSMIS in the agreement and harm stages of self-stigma. Higher self-stigma scores on the DSSS harm subscale predicted lower self-esteem and higher depression scores. However, the DSSS did not demonstrate a regressive pattern between all four stages of self-stigma like the SSMIS.
The increase of DSSS scores at the application stage may be explained by perceived public stigma (i.e. how the public understands differentness). Future research should unpack the effects of perceived difference on self-stigma for the DSSS.
由于公众对精神疾病患者的看法与一般人群不同，导致了公众污名。当公众污名内化时，就会导致自我污名。自我污名的最远端阶段是伤害，它会导致消极的自我概念，从而阻碍康复。
本研究考察了“与众不同”的观念如何反映出自卑感。我们开发了“与众不同的自我污名量表”（DSSS），以评估自我污名的四个倒退阶段——意识、认同、应用和伤害——并旨在观察 DSSS 得分是否比“精神疾病的自我污名量表”（SSMIS）更有效地预测自我污名。
有过患病经历的参与者（ = 291）完成了一项包括 DSSS、SSMIS 和评估抑郁、自尊、康复和“为什么要努力”效果的量表。
DSSS 在自我污名的认同和伤害阶段的得分与 SSMIS 有显著差异。DSSS 伤害子量表上的自我污名得分越高，自尊得分越低，抑郁得分越高。然而，DSSS 并没有像 SSMIS 那样表现出自我污名的四个阶段之间的倒退模式。
应用阶段 DSSS 得分的增加可能可以用感知到的公众污名（即公众对“与众不同”的理解）来解释。未来的研究应该阐明感知到的差异对 DSSS 自我污名的影响。
