Abstract
Abstract.Background: Previous research has failed to examine perceptions of stigma experienced by individuals with a history of suicidal behavior, and few studies have examined how stigma is experienced based on whether it was perceived from treatment providers or social network members. Aims: This study examined stigma experienced by individuals with previous suicidal behavior from both treatment providers and individuals in one’s social and family networks. Method: Individuals (n = 156) with a lifetime history of suicidal behavior were recruited through the American Association of Suicidology listserv. Results: Respondents reported the highest rates of perceived stigma with a close family member (57.1%) and emergency department personnel (56.6%). Results indicated that individuals with previous suicidal behavior were more likely to experience stigma from non-mental health providers and social network members than from mental health providers. A hierarchical regression model including both source and type of stigma accounted for more variance (R2 = .14) in depression symptomology than a model (R2 = .06) with only type of stigma. Prevalence of stigma perceived from social network members was the best predictor of depression symptom severity. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for future research on how social network members react to suicide disclosure and potential interventions for improving interactions following disclosure.
References
. (2014). Qualifications and FAQs. Retrieved from http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/Press/FAQs/Content/About_AAMFT/Qualifications.aspx?hkey=7d1341ef-0f95-46a3-9082-6c37fab2dcf6
. (2015). Frequently asked questions: What should I do if someone tells me they are thinking about suicide? Retrieved from https://www.afsp.org/preventing-suicide/frequently-asked-questions
. (2014). About APA & psychiatry. Retrieved from http://www.psychiatry.org/about-apa-psychiatry
. (2014). Licensure & practice. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/support/careers/licensure/qualifications.aspx#answer
(2000). Shared beliefs in society: Social psychological analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
(2013). The Stigma of Suicide Scale: Psychometric properties and correlates of the stigma of suicide. Crisis, 34, 13–21. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000156
(1993). The community's tolerance of the mentally ill. British Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 93–99. 10.1192/bjp.162.1.93
(2006). Consumer and family experiences in the emergency department following a suicide attempt. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 12, 341–347. 10.1097/00131746-200611000-00002
(2013). The stigma of having an abortion: Development of a scale and characteristics of women experiencing abortion stigma. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 45, 79–88. 10.1363/4507913
(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
(2002). Empowerment and serious mental illness: Treatment partnerships and community opportunities. Psychiatric Quarterly, 73, 217–228. 10.1023/A:1016040805432
(1999). Lessons from a social psychology on discrediting psychiatric stigma. American Psychologist, 54, 765–776. 10.1037/0003-066X.54.9.765
(2002). Mental illness stereotypes and clinical care: Do people avoid treatment because of stigma? Psychiatric Rehabilitation Skills, 6, 312–334. 10.1080/10973430208408441
(2002). The paradox of self-stigma and mental illness. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9, 35–52. 10.1093/clipsy.9.1.35
(2011). The attitudes of preclinical and clinical Turkish medical students toward suicide attempters. Crisis, 32, 128–133. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000065
(2015a). An interpretive phenomenological inquiry of family reaction to suicide disclosure. Manuscript submitted for publication.
(2015b). Suicide disclosure in suicide attempt survivors: Does family reaction moderate or mediate disclosure's effect on depression? Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. Advance online publication. 10.1111/sltb.12175
(2004).
The beast within the beauty: An existential perspective on the objectification and condemnation of women . In J. GreenbergS. L. KooleT. PyszczynskiEds., Handbook of experimental existential psychology (pp. 71–85). New York, NY: Guilford Press.(2001). Suicide and the media. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 932, 200–224. 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb05807.x
(2004). The general public's views on suicide and suicide prevention, and their perception of participating in a study on attitudes towards suicide. Archives of Suicide Research, 8, 345–359. 10.1080/13811110490476725
(1997). Respondent-driven sampling: A new approach to the study of hidden populations. Social Problems, 44, 175–199.
(2005). Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: First Harvard University Press.
(2010). Myths about suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
(1995). Pre-judice, stereotypes, and labeling effects: Sources of bias in person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 228–246. 10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.228
(1966). Social distance and dying. Community Mental Health Journal, 2, 152–155. 10.1007/BF01420690
(1992–1993). The stigma against dying and suicidal patients: A replication of Richard Kalish's study twenty-five years later. Omega, 26, 71–75. 10.2190/PB36-AUG6-1R77-LMPG
(2006). The stigma for attempting suicide and the loss to suicide prevention efforts. Crisis, 27, 147–148. 10.1027/0227-5910.27.3.147
(1987). Understanding labeling effects in the area of mental disorder: An assessment of the effects of expectations of rejection. American Sociological Review, 52, 96–112.
(2001). Stigma as a barrier to recovery: The consequences of stigma for the self-esteem of people with mental illnesses. Psychiatric Services, 52, 1621–1626. 10.1176/appi.ps.52.12.1621
(1989). A modified labeling theory approach to mental disorders: An empirical assessment. American Sociological Review, 54, 400–423.
(2010). Correlates and consequences of internalized stigma for people living with mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 71, 2150–2161. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.09.030
. (2014). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.asp
(2014). Public stigma and self-stigma: Differential association with attitudes toward formal and informal help seeking. Psychiatric Services, 65, 232–238. 10.1176/appi.ps.201200561
(2010). "A disease like any other"? A decade of change in public relations to schizophrenia, depression, and alcohol dependence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 1321–1330. 10.1176/appi.ajb.2010.09121743
(1997). Labeling mental illness: The effects of received services and perceived stigma on life satisfaction. American Sociological Review, 62, 660–672.
(2012). Stigma of Suicide Attempt (STOSA) Scale and Stigma of Suicide and Suicide Survivor (STOSASS) Scale: Two new assessment tools. Psychiatry Research, 200, 872–878. 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.06.033
(1994). Utility of a new procedure for diagnosing mental disorders in primary care. The PRIME-MD 1000 study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 272, 1749–1756. 10.1001/jama.1994.03520220043029
(2008). Suicide and stigma: A review of the literature and personal reflections. Academic Psychiatry, 32, 136–142. 10.1176/appi.ap.32.2.136
(2001). The stigma of suicide. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 178. 10.1192/bjp.179.2.178
(2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117, 575–600. 10.1037/a0018697
(1999). Mental health consumers' experience of stigma. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 25, 467–478.
