There are two principal types of stigma in mental illness, ie, "public stigma" and "self-stigma". Public stigma is the perception held by others that the mentally ill individual is socially undesirable. Stigmatized persons may internalize perceived prejudices and develop negative feelings about themselves. The result of this process is "self-stigma". Stigma has emerged as an important barrier t...

Poor insight and high level of self-stigma are often present among patients with schizophrenia and are related to poorer treatment adherence, poorer social function and rehabilitation, aggressive behavior, higher level of depression, social anxiety, lower quality of life and self-esteem. Reports on a relationship between insight and stigma are controversial. We examined the relationship of the ...

OBJECTIVES To determine the association between stigma and shame about having a sexually transmitted disease and adolescents' past STD related care seeking; between stigma, shame, and perceptions about disclosure of sexual behaviours to a doctor or nurse; and whether the association of stigma, shame, and care seeking was moderated by perceptions about disclosure. METHODS A household sample of...

Stigma has been shown to discourage participation in means-tested government programs. Prior research cannot explain why this deterrent effect varies in intensity across different individuals and programs. We develop a more comprehensive model of the possible determinants of stigma associated with means-tested programs than has previously been suggested by studies of welfare stigma. We test hyp...

People with mental illness often internalize negative stereotypes, resulting in self-stigma and low self-esteem ("People with mental illness are bad and therefore I am bad, too"). Despite strong evidence for self-stigma's negative impact as assessed by self-report measures, it is unclear whether self-stigma operates in an automatic, implicit manner, potentially outside conscious awareness and c...

Stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS has existed since the beginning of the epidemic, but little is known about HIV/AIDS stigma within the gay community and how it affects men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV. A better understanding of the effects of stigma on this population is needed to reduce it and its harmful effects. Our study used quantitative data from 206 HIV-positive MSM and qualita...

According to anecdotal reports, AIDS stigma and discrimination continue to influence people living with and affected by HIV disease as well as their health care providers, particularly in southern Africa where the burden of AIDS is so significant. Stigma is perceived as a major limiting factor in primary and secondary HIV/AIDS prevention and care. It reportedly interferes with voluntary testing...

People with serious illness or disability are often burdened with social stigma that promotes a cycle of poverty via unemployment, inadequate housing and threats to mental health. Stigma may be conceptualized in terms of self-stigma (e.g., shame and lowered self-esteem) or public stigma (e.g., the general public's prejudice towards the stigmatized). This article examines two psychological proce...

Pregnant women who fear or experience HIV-related stigma may not get care for their own health or medications to reduce perinatal transmission of HIV. This study examined factors associated with anticipating and experiencing HIV-related stigma among 1777 pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in rural Kenya. Women were interviewed at baseline, offered HIV testing and care, and a sub-se...