The Wicked Problem of Stigma for Youth Living With Anxiety

Abstract

Anxiety disorders typically emerge in childhood and, if left untreated, can lead to poor health and social outcomes into adulthood. Stigma contributes to the burden of mental illness in youth. Mental health stigma has been conceptualized as a wicked problem and efforts to address this complexity require a greater understanding of how stigma operates in the lives of youth. Fifty-eight youth in Manitoba, Canada aged 10 to 22 years and living with anxiety took part in the study. Data collection involved in-depth interviews and arts-based methodologies. Youth living with anxiety faced stigma at three levels: (a) interpersonal, (b) intrapersonal, and (c) structural. Stigma held by others, internalized by youth and embedded in social institutions led to compromised relationships with family and peers, low self-esteem and self-efficacy, reduced help-seeking, and discrimination in school, workplace and health care settings. Implications and potential strategies for addressing these levels of stigma are discussed.

‘It’s Nothing Serious I Suppose’ Family Help-Seeking for Adolescent Social Anxiety

“…This finding appears consistent with Biddle and colleagues’ (2007) observation that young people may defer help-seeking until prompted by a crisis or external intervention. Adolescents’ concerns about embarrassment, found in this study, also support findings in the wider literature that young people may be put off help-seeking because they anticipate embarrassment and negative or stigmatizing reactions not only from peers but also from mental health professionals (Woodgate et al, 2020; Yap et al, 2013).…”

Intersectoral Collaboration to Promote Child Development: The Contributions of the Actor-Network Theory

“…The three researchers analyzed ecomaps by their three specific aspects-relationships, social networks, and supports, according to Hartman (1978) and validated by more contemporary researchers (Johnson et al, 2017;Silveira & Neves, 2019;Woodgate et al, 2020), as well as by preconceived codes. Table 1 shows the main categories informed by analyzing the three sources of evidence.…”

“…This tool offers an interfacial nature, pointing out conflicts to be mediated, bridges to be built, and resources to be sought and mobilized ( Hartman, 1978 ). The ecomaps have been employed to analyze support networks for children, adolescents, and young people, helping to understand relationships in a person’s life and how communication and interaction occur ( Johnson et al, 2017 ; Silveira & Neves, 2019 ; Woodgate et al, 2020 ). In addition, when the same pattern of a diagram is used for data production, comparisons between cases can be established ( Bravington & King, 2019 ).…”

“…Through constant and repeated readings, specifically involving attention to common codes, RCF and MIBS collaborated with APGC to develop specific categories ( Graneheim & Lundman, 2004 ), which reflected participants’ social interactions aimed at intersectoral collaboration in their work experiences in promoting early child growth and development. The three researchers analyzed ecomaps by their three specific aspects—relationships, social networks, and supports, according to Hartman (1978) and validated by more contemporary researchers ( Johnson et al, 2017 ; Silveira & Neves, 2019 ; Woodgate et al, 2020 ), as well as by preconceived codes. Table 1 shows the main categories informed by analyzing the three sources of evidence.…”

How do Positive Deviants Overcome Health-Related Stigma? An Exploration of Development of Positive Deviance Among People With Stigmatized Health Conditions in Indonesia

“…Enacted stigma entails the experience of negative social judgment and discrimination, while felt stigma entails internalized shame associated with having a health condition and fear of experiencing discriminatory acts (Lekas et al, 2011;Scambler, 2004). Health-related stigma is a persistent problem in many communities around the world (Kemp et al, 2019;Sercu & Bracke, 2017;Stangl et al, 2019;Woodgate et al, 2020) and is known to negatively affect the quality of life of people living with stigmatized health conditions (Holzemer et al, 2009;Mosanya et al, 2013;Tsutsumi et al, 2007) and hamper the treatment and management of their disease (Sercu & Bracke, 2017;Stangl et al, 2019). Studies have shown that health-related stigma, particularly felt stigma, can be improved through various stigma reduction strategies and interventions targeted towards people living with stigmatized conditions (Dadun et al, 2019;Lusli et al, 2016;Peters et al, 2016;Rao et al, 2019).…”