Exploring the perspectives of people whose lives have been affected by depression

McNair, Bernard G; Highet, Nicole; Hickie, Ian B.

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04507.x

Cited by 107 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Many people with a mental illness experience social and economic hardship as a direct result of their illness. They must cope with their symptoms and also with stigma and discrimination that result from misconceptions about these illnesses (McNair et al, 2002; Corrigan et al, 2003). These issues are a key concern as stigma may deter people with symptoms from seeking help due to embarrassment or the belief that others will think badly of them (Gulliver, Griffiths & Christensen, 2012; Yap, Reavley & Jorm, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Twitter to monitor attitudes toward depression and schizophrenia: an exploratory study

Reavley

Pilkington

2014

PeerJ

105

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Introduction. The paper reports on an exploratory study of the usefulness of Twitter for unobtrusive assessment of stigmatizing attitudes in the community.Materials and Methods. Tweets with the hashtags #depression or #schizophrenia posted on Twitter during a 7-day period were collected. Tweets were categorised based on their content and user information and also on the extent to which they indicated a stigmatising attitude towards depression or schizophrenia (stigmatising, personal experience of stigma, supportive, neutral, or anti-stigma). Tweets that indicated stigmatising attitudes or personal experiences of stigma were further grouped into the following subthemes: social distance, dangerousness, snap out of it, personal weakness, inaccurate beliefs, mocking or trivializing, and self-stigma.Results and Discussion. Tweets on depression mostly related to resources for consumers (34%), or advertised services or products for individuals with depression (20%). The majority of schizophrenia tweets aimed to increase awareness of schizophrenia (29%) or reported on research findings (22%). Tweets on depression were largely supportive (65%) or neutral (27%). A number of tweets were specifically anti-stigma (7%). Less than 1% of tweets reflected stigmatising attitudes (0.7%) or personal experience of stigma (0.1%). More than one third of the tweets which reflected stigmatising attitudes were mocking or trivialising towards individuals with depression (37%). The attitude that individuals with depression should “snap out of it” was evident in 30% of the stigmatising tweets. The majority of tweets relating to schizophrenia were categorised as supportive (42%) or neutral (43%). Almost 10% of tweets were explicitly anti-stigma. The percentage of tweets showing stigmatising attitudes was 5%, while less than 1% of tweets described personal experiences of stigmatising attitudes towards individuals with schizophrenia. Of the tweets that indicated stigmatising attitudes, most reflected inaccurate beliefs about schizophrenia being multiple personality disorder (52%) or mocked or trivialised individuals with schizophrenia (33%).Conclusions. The study supports the use of analysis of Twitter content to unobtrusively measure attitudes towards mental illness, both supportive and stigmatising. The results of the study may be useful in assisting mental health promotion and advocacy organisations to provide information about resources and support, raise awareness and counter common stigmatising attitudes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Twitter to monitor attitudes toward depression and schizophrenia: an exploratory study

Reavley

Pilkington

2014

PeerJ

105

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“…Around the world many people with mental illness are discriminated against, have restricted work opportunities, feel stigmatized at work,6–8 and are even denied the basic rights afforded to other members of society 9. Where studies have been conducted in the Western world, it appears that the majority of the public,3,10 from children and adolescents,11 to mental health professionals,12–14 and even family members15 hold stigmatizing attitudes towards those with mental illnesses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects, experiences, and impact of stigma on patients with bipolar disorder

Mileva¹,

Vázquez²,

Milev³

2013

NDT

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BackgroundMany people with mental illness experience stigma that has impacted their lives. In this study, we validated the Inventory of Stigmatizing Experiences (ISE) as a tool to help quantify the stigma experienced by patients with bipolar disorder and its impact on their lives. The ISE has two components, ie, the Stigma Experiences Scale (SES) and the Stigma Impact Scale (SIS), which were administered to a population of Argentinean patients with bipolar disorder. We characterized the differences between these two populations using the SES and SIS. Finally, we compared SES and SIS scores with those in a population of Canadian patients with bipolar disorder.Methods:The SES and SIS scales were administered to tertiary care patients with bipolar I and II disorder in Argentina (n = 178) and Canada (n = 214).Results:In this study, we validated both SES (Kuder-Richardson coefficient of reliability, 0.78) and SIS (Cronbach’s alpha, 0.91) scales in a population of Argentinean patients with bipolar disorder. There were no significant differences in stigma between patients with bipolar I or II disorder on SES or SIS. However, over 50% of all respondents believed that the average person is afraid of those with mental illnesses, that stigma associated with mental illness has affected their quality of life, and that their self-esteem has suffered due to stigma. In comparison with the Canadian population, Argentinean participants scored lower on both the SES and SIS, which may be due to cultural differences or to differences in population characteristics.Conclusion:Stigma associated with mental illness is serious and pervasive. If we are to find successful strategies to mitigate stigma, it is first important to understand how patients perceive such stigma. The ISE is a valuable tool which allows us to do this with high reliability among cultures.

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“…In addition, depression and help seeking for the condition are stigmatized [3,4]. A substantial minority of people with depression do not seek formal help [5], and those who do may find that formal services do not meet all their needs [6], particularly in relation to practical advice and ongoing emotional support. Moreover, it has been calculated that optimal treatment using the best currently available evidence-based interventions would avert only 34% of the burden associated with depression even if it were provided to all people with the condition [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review on Internet Support Groups (ISGs) and Depression (2): What Is Known About Depression ISGs?

Griffiths

Calear²,

Banfield³

et al. 2009

J Med Internet Res

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Background Internet support groups (ISGs) are a popular means by which consumers with depression communicate online. A number of studies have evaluated the nature and impact of depression-specific ISGs. However, to date there have been no published systematic reviews of this evidence.Objective The aim was to systematically identify and summarize the available evidence concerning the scope and findings of studies of depression ISGs.Methods Three databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane) were searched using over 150 search terms extracted from relevant papers, abstracts, and a thesaurus. Papers were included if they employed an online peer-to-peer depression-specific support group and reported either quantitative or qualitative empirical data. The objective of each study was coded according to a 20-category classification system, which included the effect on depression and other outcomes, including help seeking; user characteristics, activity, satisfaction, perceived benefits, perceived disadvantages; the reason for using the ISG; the nature of ISG posts; characteristics of depression ISGs compared to other ISG types, face-to-face groups, and face-to-face counseling; ISG structure and longitudinal changes; and predictors of ISG adherence.Results Thirteen papers satisfied the inclusion criteria from an initial pool of 12,692 abstracts. Of these, three collected data using survey questionnaires, nine analyzed samples of posts, and one both collected survey data and analyzed a sample of posts. The quality of most studies was not high, and little data were collected on most key aspects of depression ISGs. The most common objective of the studies was to analyze the nature of the posts (eight studies) and to describe site usage (six studies) and user characteristics (five studies). The most prevalent types of social support were emotional, informational, and social companionship.ConclusionsGiven the popularity of depression ISGs and the paucity of available evidence about them, there is a need for high-quality, systematic studies of these groups, their impact, and the characteristics of their members and users. Such information is required to inform decision making by consumers, provider and educational organizations, guideline developers, policy makers, and funding bodies considering using, recommending, providing, or funding such groups.

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Exploring the perspectives of people whose lives have been affected by depression

Cited by 107 publications

References 10 publications

Use of Twitter to monitor attitudes toward depression and schizophrenia: an exploratory study

Use of Twitter to monitor attitudes toward depression and schizophrenia: an exploratory study

Effects, experiences, and impact of stigma on patients with bipolar disorder

Systematic Review on Internet Support Groups (ISGs) and Depression (2): What Is Known About Depression ISGs?

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