Predictors of Depression Stigma

Overview

Journal BMC Psychiatry

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2008 Apr 22

PMID 18423003

Citations 132

Authors

Kathleen M Griffiths

Helen Christensen

Anthony F Jorm

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: To investigate and compare the predictors of personal and perceived stigma associated with depression.

Method: Three samples were surveyed to investigate the predictors: a national sample of 1,001 Australian adults; a local community sample of 5,572 residents of the Australian Capital Territory and Queanbeyan aged 18 to 50 years; and a psychologically distressed subset (n = 487) of the latter sample. Personal and Perceived Stigma were measured using the two subscales of the Depression Stigma Scale. Potential predictors included demographic variables (age, gender, education, country of birth, remoteness of residence), psychological distress, awareness of Australia's national depression initiative beyondblue, depression literacy and level of exposure to depression. Not all predictors were used for all samples.

Results: Personal stigma was consistently higher among men, those with less education and those born overseas. It was also associated with greater current psychological distress, lower prior contact with depression, not having heard of a national awareness raising initiative, and lower depression literacy. These findings differed from those for perceived stigma except for psychological distress which was associated with both higher personal and higher perceived stigma. Remoteness of residence was not associated with either type of stigma.

Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of treating the concepts of personal and perceived stigma separately in designing measures of stigma, in interpreting the pattern of findings in studies of the predictors of stigma, and in designing, interpreting the impact of and disseminating interventions for stigma.

Citing Articles

Stigma Among Historically Marginalized Young Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses: A Mixed Methods Study.

Rodwin A, Shimizu R, Banya M, Moore K, Bessaha M, Pahwa R Stigma Health. 2025; 10(1):50-62.

PMID: 39990051 PMC: 11842155. DOI: 10.1037/sah0000454.

Indigenous people display lower mental illness stigma in Aotearoa.

Jamieson I, Winter T, Mason A, Fehoko E, Arahanga-Doyle H, Fox R Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2025; 59(2):162-170.

PMID: 39885732 PMC: 11783977. DOI: 10.1177/00048674241307159.

Clusters of Patient Empowerment and Mental Health Literacy Differentiate Professional Help-Seeking Attitudes in Online Mental Health Communities Users.

Bizzotto N, de Bruijn G, Schulz P Health Expect. 2025; 28(1):e70153.

PMID: 39815681 PMC: 11735741. DOI: 10.1111/hex.70153.

Understanding mental health help-seeking and stigma among Hungarian adults: A network perspective.

Swisher V, ori D, Rihmer Z, Wernigg R Eur Psychiatry. 2024; 67(1):e52.

PMID: 39297225 PMC: 11457119. DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.1772.

Understanding stigma in the context of help-seeking for eating disorders.

Wall P, Fassnacht D, Fabry E, OShea A, Houlihan C, Mulgrew K J Eat Disord. 2024; 12(1):126.

PMID: 39223635 PMC: 11367835. DOI: 10.1186/s40337-024-01086-w.

References

Link B, Phelan J, Bresnahan M, Stueve A, Pescosolido B . Public conceptions of mental illness: labels, causes, dangerousness, and social distance. Am J Public Health. 1999; 89(9):1328-33. PMC: 1508784. DOI: 10.2105/ajph.89.9.1328. View

Andrews G, Slade T . Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Aust N Z J Public Health. 2002; 25(6):494-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-842x.2001.tb00310.x. View

Yen C, Chen C, Lee Y, Tang T, Yen J, Ko C . Self-stigma and its correlates among outpatients with depressive disorders. Psychiatr Serv. 2005; 56(5):599-601. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.56.5.599. View

Angermeyer M, Matschinger H . The stigma of mental illness: effects of labelling on public attitudes towards people with mental disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2003; 108(4):304-9. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00150.x. View

Griffiths K, Nakane Y, Christensen H, Yoshioka K, Jorm A, Nakane H . Stigma in response to mental disorders: a comparison of Australia and Japan. BMC Psychiatry. 2006; 6:21. PMC: 1525161. DOI: 10.1186/1471-244X-6-21. View

Yen C, Chen C, Lee Y, Tang T, Ko C, Yen J . Insight and correlates among outpatients with depressive disorders. Compr Psychiatry. 2005; 46(5):384-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2004.11.004. View

Griffiths K, Christensen H, Jorm A, Evans K, Groves C . Effect of web-based depression literacy and cognitive-behavioural therapy interventions on stigmatising attitudes to depression: randomised controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 2004; 185:342-9. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.185.4.342. View

Barry M, Doherty A, Hope A, Sixsmith J, Kelleher C . A community needs assessment for rural mental health promotion. Health Educ Res. 2000; 15(3):293-304. DOI: 10.1093/her/15.3.293. View

Dietrich S, Beck M, Bujantugs B, Kenzine D, Matschinger H, Angermeyer M . The relationship between public causal beliefs and social distance toward mentally ill people. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2004; 38(5):348-54. DOI: 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2004.01363.x. View

10.

Rost K, Smith G, Taylor J . Rural-urban differences in stigma and the use of care for depressive disorders. J Rural Health. 1993; 9(1):57-62. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.1993.tb00495.x. View

11.

Corrigan P, Watson A . Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World Psychiatry. 2006; 1(1):16-20. PMC: 1489832. View

12.

Jorm A, Nakane Y, Christensen H, Yoshioka K, Griffiths K, Wata Y . Public beliefs about treatment and outcome of mental disorders: a comparison of Australia and Japan. BMC Med. 2005; 3:12. PMC: 1177951. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-3-12. View

13.

Crisp A, Gelder M, Goddard E, Meltzer H . Stigmatization of people with mental illnesses: a follow-up study within the Changing Minds campaign of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. World Psychiatry. 2006; 4(2):106-13. PMC: 1414750. View

14.

Roeloffs C, Sherbourne C, Unutzer J, Fink A, Tang L, Wells K . Stigma and depression among primary care patients. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2003; 25(5):311-5. DOI: 10.1016/s0163-8343(03)00066-5. View

15.

OConnor B . SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and velicer's MAP test. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput. 2000; 32(3):396-402. DOI: 10.3758/bf03200807. View

16.

Lauber C, Nordt C, Falcato L, Rossler W . Factors influencing social distance toward people with mental illness. Community Ment Health J. 2004; 40(3):265-74. DOI: 10.1023/b:comh.0000026999.87728.2d. View

17.

Pyne J, Kuc E, Schroeder P, Fortney J, Edlund M, Sullivan G . Relationship between perceived stigma and depression severity. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2004; 192(4):278-83. DOI: 10.1097/01.nmd.0000120886.39886.a3. View

18.

Jorm A, Korten A, Jacomb P, Christensen H, Rodgers B, Pollitt P . "Mental health literacy": a survey of the public's ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Med J Aust. 1997; 166(4):182-6. DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1997.tb140071.x. View

19.

McNair B, Highet N, Hickie I, Davenport T . Exploring the perspectives of people whose lives have been affected by depression. Med J Aust. 2002; 176(10):S69-76. DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04507.x. View

20.

Christensen H, Griffiths K, Jorm A . Delivering interventions for depression by using the internet: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2004; 328(7434):265. PMC: 324455. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.37945.566632.EE. View