Social Stigma and Psychiatric Disorder

The social stigma associated with psychiatric disorder is often a reason cited for the delay or avoidance of treatment. It is thus of concern to mental health practitioners caring and advocating for ill individuals. As a cultural phenomenon, stigma also poses challenges for those who manage treatment settings and policy makers who must deal with the image of those labeled as mentally ill. My dissertation was a correlational study with a panel design which examined, over a four-month time span, the personal experiences and perceptions of stigma by psychiatric patients receiving medical and psychosocial treatments under the auspices offederally funded studies ofunipolar (UP) and bipolar (BP) affective disorders. The word "stigma " is defined as a mark, and originally referenced a physical mark. Although not a pejorative term in its Greek origin, it has become associated with its later Latin usage in referencing physical identifying marks inflicted on criminals. As the term is used today, stigma is not a physical mark, but a metaphorical one, referring to a blemish or flaw ofcharacter. The negative connotation has endured, and individuals whose behavior is not understood are often thought ofas less worthy, possibly dangerous, and are thu