Reducing the stigma of mental illness: Current approaches and future directions.

Abstract

The stigma of mental illness hinders treatment use and may exacerbate the already sizable social and psychological burden imposed by mental illness symptoms. Despite continuous efforts to reduce mental illness stigma, negative attitudes have persisted or worsened in the last few decades. Past reviews have already evaluated the many methodological limitations that may be dampening progress in this area. In this work, additional issues related to costly stigma-reduction approaches, heterogeneous constructs, and overly narrow research questions are discussed. Specific recommendations are then provided for refocusing this area of work by expanding research questions, establishing clearer constructs, and including some neglected but crucial study populations. Addressing the conceptual challenges in mental illness stigma research can help to improve interventions and better serve persons suffering from psychological distress.