Is it okay to be not okay? Review of research on attitudes towards people with mental disorders

Abstract

The prevalence of mental disorders in the modern world is constantly increasing. Along with it, people's awareness of the specifics of various mental disorders is growing, but it does not lead to a decrease in negative perceptions about their carriers. Most often in modern social sciences, these ideas are investigated in the context of stigmatization of people with mental disorders. This is a complex phenomenon which consists of labelling and stereotyping, exclusion and discrimination, which co-occur in the presence of status differences between groups. Stigmatization influences almost all spheres of life: family life (interpersonal relationships with relatives and friends and participation in their lives), occupational activity (hiring perspectives, relationships with management and colleagues), therapy (relationships with medical staff, treatment quality). Special attention in comprehensive literature is paid to self-stigmatization, which does not only stem from stigmatization, but also enhances its other consequences. The purpose of this review is to summarize and analyze the results of modern foreign studies of stigmatization and self-stigmatization of people with mental disorders, as well as to highlight the consequences of these processes both for people with mental disorders themselves within different levels and in various spheres of life (personal, occupational) and for society in general.