TITLE:
Internalized stigma of mental illness in Sweden and Iran—A comparative study
AUTHORS:
Lars Jacobsson, Helia Ghanean, Birgitta Törnkvist
KEYWORDS:
Mental Disorders; Internalized Stigma; Iran; Sweden
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.3 No.4,
September
11,
2013
ABSTRACT: Objectives: Stigma and discrimination
because of mental illness is still prevalent even in high-income countries
where a lot of emphasis has been given to anti-stigma activities and measures
to reduce the marginalization of these persons. One aspect of the stigma issue
is the self-stigmatization that persons suffering from mental illness are
experiencing. In this study two different societies have been compared as
regards internalized stigma of mental illness. Methods: A widely used
questionnaire was used by the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale
(ISMI). One sample of psychiatric patients from Sweden (N = 163) and from Iran
(N = 138) is compared. Results: The Swedish sample generally reports lower
levels of experienced stigma except for items covering selfblame and feelings
of alienation. Conclusions: There are reasons to consider the aspect of
self-stigmatization when working with mentally ill persons even in high income
countries with well developed mental health services.