‘Forensic’ labelling: An empirical assessment of its effects on self-stigma for people with severe mental illness

Support for Relatives Bereaved by Psychiatric Patient Suicide: National Confidential Inquiry Into Suicide and Homicide Findings

“…These characteristics included use of a violent suicide method (6), living with a partner or a dependent who was also a psychiatric patient (22), unemployment (23), minority racial or ethnic group (24), residence in the United Kingdom for less than five years (25), forensic history (26), childhood abuse history (27), recent alcohol misuse (28), recent drug misuse (28), primary diagnosis of alcohol dependence or misuse (29), and primary diagnosis of drug dependence or misuse (28). We used the ONS suicide classification to define dying by violent means: hanging/strangulation, jumping (from a height/in front of a moving vehicle), firearms, cutting/stabbing, burning, drowning, electrocution, and asphyxiation/suffocation.…”

Directions for Future Patient-Centered and Comparative Effectiveness Research for People With Serious Mental Illness

“…647 Stigma has been attributed to and associated with a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, circumstances, health conditions, social influences, and outcomes, including QOL, self-esteem, self-appraisal of competence, recovery, empowerment, social support, social integration, psychiatric symptoms, anxiety, avoidance/withdrawal, medication adherence, secrecy, and social and psychological functioning. [647][648][649][650][651][652][653] Pescosolido et al 654 elucidate the ways in which stigma comes to be defined in, and enacted through, social interactions, making clear that while stigma attaches to individuals, individuals do not develop beliefs and attitudes in a void but rather are influenced by a host and range of social, economic, cultural, and political contexts that shape expectations and cognitive processing. This framework 654 articulates the ways in which these contributing factors interact to produce stigma and discrimination, incorporating a wide range of theoretical constructs from labeling theory, social network theory, the limited capacity model of media influence, the social psychology of prejudice and discrimination, and theories of the welfare state.…”

“…647,654 At the social level, large groups or societies support stereotypes about and against a particular subgroup of people, which may be enacted through discriminatory practices, including by clinicians. 655 Structural stigma exists in the world of policies, laws, rules, and procedures that restrict the rights of the stigmatized group.…”

“…Both felt and self-stigma can lead to avoidance of mental healthrelated services 656,657 and can negatively affect recovery outcomes. 625,647 Peer-support and peer-delivered services are intended, in part, to counteract self-stigma by providing role models to transform individuals from disempowered "patients" to empowered "persons." Additional research is needed, however, to conceptualize the processes by which this transformation takes place, as well as to develop best approaches for providing peer-delivered services.…”

“…The authors concluded that internalized stigma has negative effects on a wide range of outcomes. 647 Other researchers have studied the ways in which internalized stigma affects recovery. Yanos et al 625 and Lysaker et al 649 have consistently found that internalized stigma negatively affects hope and self-esteem.…”