Representations of mental health and arts participation in the national and local British press, 2007–2015

Abstract

A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. AbstractWe analysed news articles published in national and local British newspapers between 2007 and 2015 to understand 1) how mental health and arts participation were framed and 2) how the relationships between participants in arts initiatives were conceptualised. Using corpus-assisted qualitative frame analysis, we identified frames of recovery, stigma and economy. The recovery frame, which emphasised that mental illness can be treated similarly to physical illness, positioned arts participation as a form of therapy that can complement or substitute medication. The stigma frame presented arts participation as a mechanism for challenging social conceptions that mentally ill individuals are incapable of productive work. The economy frame discussed the economic burden of mentally ill individuals and portrayed arts participation as facilitating their return to employment. Using thematic analysis, which paid attention to the representation of social actors, we found that service users were identified as the prime beneficiaries of arts initiatives and arts participation was conceptualised as a way to bring people with mental health issues together. We discuss these findings against existing research on media representations of mental health and the concept of 'mutual recovery' and suggest what wider concurrent developments in the areas of mental health and the media may account for the uncovered frames and themes.

Discursive construction of the patient in online clinical cancer pathways information

“…This study uses a Corpus‐Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the language of web‐based cancer care pathways information in Norway. This is a ‘tried and tested’ mixed methods approach (Crawford, Gilbert, Gilbert, Gale, & Harvey, 2013) which has become established over the last 15 years (see Adolphs, Brown, Carter, Crawford, & Sahota, 2004; Atanasova, Koteyko, Brown, & Crawford, 2017; Crawford, Brown, & Harvey, 2014). Typically, the approach combines analysis of word frequencies and concordance lines using corpus analysis software to identify the ‘linguistic fingerprint’ or ‘aboutness’ of the text (Scott, 2006) prior to further qualitative discourse analysis.…”

Mental health and the media: From illness to wellbeing

“…Focusing on “the illness side” of mental health, researchers have consequently paid little attention to “the wellness side.” Exceptions include studies by Aragonès et al (), Atanasova et al (), Goulden et al (), Henson et al (), Kenez, O'Halloran, and Liamputtong (), McGinty et al (), Thornicroft et al (), and Whitley and Berry (). Such studies typically provide little detail regarding the precise content of recovery messages and tend to be limited to giving quantitative information about the prevalence of recovery themes.…”

“…Such studies typically provide little detail regarding the precise content of recovery messages and tend to be limited to giving quantitative information about the prevalence of recovery themes. A more in‐depth analysis of both the qualitative characteristics and frequency of recovery messages in newspapers is available in Atanasova, Koteyko, Brown, and Crawford's () study, which identified a dominant theme of “recovery” emphasising that mental illness can be treated similarly to physical illness including through arts participation. The concept of “recovery” is built on a strong belief that it is possible for people with mental disorders to regain a meaningful life despite persistent symptoms (World Health Organization, ).…”

“…However, there are also signs that stigma in the media may be improving. Atanasova et al (), for example, have identified the theme of stigma in newspaper coverage about mental health, but this was on account of discussing stigma as a problem that needs to be addressed, not the media per se engaging in stigmatising depictions.…”

Using frame analysis to re‐analyse the results of inductive thematic analysis: A methodological discussion of investigating meanings and learning contexts in baccalaureate nurse education

“…The relevance of the related insights of social movement theorists who have built on Goffman's conception of frames to theorize and research social movements (Benford & Snow, 2000; Snow & Benford, 1988; Snow, Rochford, Worden, & Benford, 1986) will not be considered because space is limited. Neither shall we consider how scholars in communication studies and journalism have adapted frame analysis to analyse media communications (Atanasova, Koteyko, Brown, & Crawford, 2019a, 2019b; Baroutsis, 2019; Matthes, 2009; Walter, Ophir, & Jamieson, 2020).…”