The extent to which mental health consumers encounter stigma in their daily lives is a matter of substantial importance for their recovery and quality of life. This article summarizes the results of a nationwide survey of 1,301 mental health consumers concerning their experience of stigma and discrimination. Survey results and followup interviews with 100 respondents revealed experience of stigma from a variety of sources, including communities, families, churches, coworkers, and mental health caregivers. The majority of respondents tended to try to conceal their disorders and worried a great deal that others would find out about their psychiatric status and treat them unfavorably. They reported discouragement, hurt, anger, and lowered self-esteem as results of their experiences, and they urged public education as a means for reducing stigma. Some reported that involvement in advocacy and speaking out when stigma and discrimination were encountered helped them to cope with stigma. Limitations to generalization of results include the self-selection, relatively high functioning of participants, and respondent connections to a specific advocacy organization-the National Alliance for the Mentally 111.

Studies that address the frequency, accuracy, and impact of mass media portrayals of mental illness are reviewed. Numerous studies of frequency and content of media depictions support clinical observations that mental illness is frequently depicted in the mass media, particularly the entertainment media, and that these depictions tend to be inaccurate and unfavorable. Limitations, such as age of the studies and mixed attention to psychiatry, psychology, and mental illness, however, leave a need for further such studies. Investigations of the specific impact of media images of mental illness support the belief that media presentations about mental illness, including those in entertainment form, can have significant effects on attitudes toward mental illness and treatment. These studies, however, are few in number and have demonstrated only short‐term effects of specific portrayals. Further research is needed to demonstrate longlasting effects and the overall impact of multiple, repeated, media depictions.

The current study investigated the effectiveness of the In Our Own Voice (IOOV) mental health education program in improving knowledge and attitudes about mental illnesses. Undergraduate participants (N = 114) completed three pre-test measures of knowledge and attitudes, attended either an In Our Own Voice presentation or a control presentation about psychology careers, and repeated the three measures following the presentation. Results indicated that the IOOV group showed significant positive change across time, as well as significantly greater improvement than a control group in their knowledge and attitude scores on all measures. These findings support the effectiveness of the IOOV program.

The views of 487 members of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) concerning stigma were surveyed in 20 different States. Almost all identified stigma as a problem for their mentally ill relatives and for families in general. The most frequently cited effects of stigma on ill relatives were damage to self-esteem, difficulty making and keeping friends, difficulty finding a job, and reluctance to admit mental illness. The most frequently cited effects on families were lowered self-esteem and damaged family relationships. NAMI respondents identified popular movies about mentally ill killers, news coverage of tragedies caused by mentally ill people, casual use of terms like "crazy" and "psycho," and jokes about mental illness as prominent sources of stigma. The things families reportedly found most helpful in dealing with stigma were factual information about mental illness, interaction with other families with mentally ill relatives, support within the family, and research findings that establish a biological basis for mental illness. Mental health professionals received mixed reviews from family members. While not generally viewed as contributing to stigma, mental health professionals were seen as least helpful in dealing with stigma. Overall, survey results indicate that considerable concern about stigma exists among families with mentally ill relatives and that substantial numbers of family members experience the stigma of mental illness in one form or another and perceive that their ill relatives experience it as well.

Newspapers are a primary source of information about a variety of topics, including mental illnesses. A study of 1999 newspapers revealed that dangerousness is the most common theme of stories about mental illnesses. In contrast, stories of recovery or accomplishment were found to be rare. The ratio of negative to positive stories involving mental illness decreased between 1989 and 1999, but negative stories continued to far outnumber positive ones. The potential influence of these patterns of news coverage on public attitudes and public policy are discussed.