Mental Health Stigma About Serious Mental Illness Among MSW Students: Social Contact and Attitude (Graduate Social Work Students) (Report)

Stigma is universally experienced in all cultures and at various stages of life; stigmatizing or negative attitudes against those living with mental illnesses are prevalent among the general U.S. population (Hinshaw, 2005; Pinto-Foltz & Logsdon, 2008). Although there are various definitions of serious mental illness (SMI), the most commonly used definition is having--at some time within a given year--a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder meeting criteria specified in the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994). More recently, the DSM--IV--TR (APA, 2000) defined SMI as referring to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. Stigmatization has many detrimental effects on the population living with SMI, including refusal to seek treatment, decreased quality of life, fewer job opportunities, decreased opportunities for obtaining housing, decreased quality in health care, and decreased self-esteem (Corrigan, 2004; Lawrie, 1999; Link, Phelan, Bresnahan, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 1999). Stigmatization, given its detrimental effects, is an important issue for the social work field to examine. The promotion of client empowerment and client partnership are integral to social work practice values (Hepworth, Rooney, & Larsen, 2002; Miley, O'Milea, & DuBois, 2004), but stigmatizing attitudes may create barriers to forming partnerships and empowering clients. Indeed, a study shows that professionals, such as social workers, working with populations that are diagnosed with mental illness have equally negative attitudes toward mental illness as those found in the general public (Nordt, Rossler, & Lauber, 2006). Thus, stigma seems to be one of the greatest barriers for social workers to promote empowerment and client partnership (Corrigan, 2004), and this deserves our close attention. Mental health stigma and its effects on social work students has been understudied.