Experiences of Social and Structural Forms of Stigma Among Chinese Immigrant Consumers with Psychosis

Abstract

Chinese immigrants tend to rely on family and close community for support given their vulnerable societal position. Yet stigma, especially from structural and familial sources, may have a particularly harmful impact upon Chinese immigrants with psychosis. Using a descriptive analysis based upon grounded theory, we examined stigma experiences of 50 Chinese immigrant consumers with psychosis, paying particular attention to frequency, sources, and themes of social and structural stigma. Although past research indicates that family is a recipient of stigma, we found instead that family members were common perpetuators of social forms of stigma. We also found that perceptions of work deficit underlie many forms of stigma, suggesting this is "what matters most" in this community. Lack of financial resources and language barriers comprised most frequent forms of structural stigma. Anti-stigma efforts should aim to improve consumer's actual and perceived employability to target what is most meaningful in Chinese immigrant communities.

What is at stake? Exploring the moral experience of stigma with Indian-Australians and Anglo-Australians living with depression

“…What mattered most for Anglo-Australians was work relations, whereas for Indian-Australians, what mattered most was social relations within families and in the community. This finding is similar to Yang and colleague's previous studies (Cheng et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2014) which found that work was a protective factor against the stigma of mental illness amongst Chinese-Americans and what really mattered for these participants was employability. However, our finding is unique in that in our study the Anglo-Australian community expressed this sentiment whereas the Indian-Australian community did not.…”

“…Adding moral experience to understanding stigma makes explicit what is at stake across social relations and cultural domains (Kleinman & Hall-Clifford, 2009;Yang et al, 2007). This theoretical lens has mainly been applied to people living with mental illness in low-and middleincome countries; Yang et al's studies were the only ones we could find that applied this theory to Chinese-Americans with psychosis in the US (Chen et al, 2013;Cheng et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2014).…”

“…Koschorke et al, 2014;Raguram, Raghu, Vounatsou, & Weiss, 2004). Yang and his colleagues' work is one of the few exceptions that we could find of work done in Western settings with people living with mental illness (Chen, Lai, & Yang, 2013;Cheng, Tu, Li, Chang, & Yang, 2015;Yang et al, 2014). His studies with Chinese-American immigrants living with psychosis reveal that the stigma of mental illness intersects with the stigma of worklessness, with those under-and unemployed experiencing greater stigma than those in full employment.…”

“…In contrast, participants who were in full employment were able to mediate the stigma of mental illness in their culture by emphasising their productivity by working. Thus, as Yang et al (2014) show, stigma is a multi-layered process involving social and structural discrimination, playing out differently in different cultures (Chen et al, 2013;Cheng et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2014). However, these studies have mainly been confined to Chinese communities in the US and do not compare how immigrant views about stigma and mental illness may differ from the broader community.…”

Asian American Women Sexual Assault Survivors’ Choice of Coping Strategies: The Role of Post-Assault Cognitive Responses

“…Fear of losing economic or social support, especially if their husbands or fathers are the sole providers (Abbey et al, 2010), may be salient concerns, leading to lower sense of control over their recovery process. This may be particularly relevant to AA women who are recent immigrants, refugees, or not English proficient, who often have few economic resources and additional barriers to seeking support for recovery (Cheng, Tu, Li, Chang, & Yang, 2015; Holzman, 1996; Okazaki, 2002).…”