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01-10-2007 | Original Paper

The Stigma of Psychiatric Disorders and the Gender, Ethnicity, and Education of the Perceiver

Authors: Patrick W. Corrigan, Psy.D., Amy C. Watson, Ph.D.

Published in: Community Mental Health Journal | Issue 5/2007

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine how the demographics of perceivers influence their stigma of people with mental illness or with substance abuse. A nationally representative sample (N = 968) was asked to respond to a vignette describing a person with a health condition (schizophrenia, drug dependence, or emphysema) and his/her family member. Consistent with our hypotheses, women were less likely to endorse stigma than men. Participants with higher education were also less likely to stigmatize than less educated participants. Contrary to our expectations, nonwhite research participants were more likely to endorse stigma than whites. Implications of these findings for better understanding the stigma of mental illness, and the development of anti-stigma programs, are reviewed.

In this paper the stigma experienced by people with psychiatric disorders is distinguished from courtesy stigma by labeling the former primary stigma.

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Title: The Stigma of Psychiatric Disorders and the Gender, Ethnicity, and Education of the Perceiver
Authors: Patrick W. Corrigan, Psy.D.
Amy C. Watson, Ph.D.
Publication date: 01-10-2007
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Community Mental Health Journal / Issue 5/2007
Print ISSN: 0010-3853
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2789
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-007-9084-9

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

The Stigma of Psychiatric Disorders and the Gender, Ethnicity, and Education of the Perceiver

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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