Stigma and self-stigma among individuals with mental disorders and chronic ilness

Stigmatizacija osoba s određenim psihičkim poremećajima i kroničnim bolestima i dalje je prisutna. Stigma znači pripisivanje diskreditirajućih svojstava osobi, koja ju čine nepoželjnom i manje vrijednom. Stigma je složen pojam koji podrazumijeva stereotipe, predrasude i diskriminaciju. Samostigmatizacija je česta posljedica stigme, a podrazumijeva internalizaciju stigme, odnosno poistovjećivanje sa stereotipima i predrasudama koje postoje u društvu. Rad se sastoji od kvalitativnog i kvantitativnog istraživanja. Kroz kvalitativno se istraživanje željelo saznati što osobe s psihičkim poremećajima i kroničnim bolestima podrazumijevaju pod pojmom stigma i što on za njih znači, u kojim situacijama očekuju da će biti stigmatizirani, konkretne situacije i osobna iskustva doživljene stigme, načine na koje je stigma utjecala na različita područja njihovih života i oblike nošenja sa stigmom te najveće izvore podrške u njihovim životima. U kvalitativnom je istraživanju sudjelovalo 8 sudionika, 3 osobe s psihičkim poremećajima, 3 osobe s epilepsijom i 2 osobe s kroničnim upalnim bolestima crijeva. Sa sudionicima istraživanja provedeni su polustrukturirani intervjui koji su snimani. Potom su napravljeni transkripti intervjua te je provedena kvalitativna tematska analiza. Kvantitativno je istraživanje provedeno s ciljem utvrđivanja stavova studenata diplomskog studija Edukacijska rehabilitacija Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijskog fakulteta u Zagrebu prema osobama s psihičkim poremećajima. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 88 ispitanika s obje godine i svih triju modula diplomskog studija. U istraživanju je korišten dio upitnika autorica Jokić-Begić, Kamenov i Lauri-Korajlije. Korištene su Skala znanja, Skala stavova i Skala socijalne distance. Skala znanja sastoji se od tvrdnji koje je potrebno označiti kao točne ili netočne. Skala stavova sastoji se od 25 tvrdnji, a od ispitanika se očekuje da označe svoje slaganje s izjavama od 1 (uopće se ne slažem) do 5 (u potpunosti se slažem). Skala socijalne distance zahtijeva da ispitanik označi određene odnose s osobama sa psihičkim poremećajima kao prihvatljive, odnosno neprihvatljive. Ispitanici odlučuju o prihvatljivosti osoba s psihičkim poremećajima u ulozi susjeda, prijatelja, odgajatelja ili učitelja vlastitog djeteta, vlastitog partnera, partnera svog brata ili sestre i partnera vlastitog djeteta. Stavovi studenata vrlo su pozitivni, ali postoji određena razina socijalne distance prema osobama s psihičkim poremećajima.The stigmatization of people with certain mental disorders and chronic illnesses is still widespread. A stigma is a complex term which involves stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. A stigma signifies the ascription of discrediting traits to a person, making them unappealing and less valuable. Self-stigmatization is a common consequence of a stigma, and it entails the internalization of a stigma and self – identification with the stereotypes and prejudices which exist in the society. This paper consists of qualitative and quantitative research. Through the qualitative research the aim was to find out what people with mental disorders and chronic illnesses have in mind when talking about the term stigma and which meaning it bears for them, in which situations they expect to be stigmatized, the concrete situations and personal experiences of encountering a stigma, ways in which the stigma has influenced various aspects of their lives and ways of coping with the stigma, as well as the biggest sources of support in their lives. In the qualitative part of the research we have had 8 participants: 3 people with mental disorders, 3 people with epilepsy and 2 people with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Semi – structured interviews, which were being recorded, have been carried out with the participants. The transcripts of the interviews were made and a qualitative thematic analysis was carried out. The quantitative part of the research has been carried out in order to establish the attitudes of the students of the graduate programme of Educational Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences in Zagreb towards people with mental disorders. 88 students from both years and all 3 modules of the graduate programme have partaken in the research. A part of the questionnaire by the authors Jokić – Begić, Kamenov and Lauri – Korajlija has been used in the research. Furthermore, a knowledge scale, an attitudinal scale and a social distance scale have been used. The knowledge scale consists of claims which have to be marked as correct or incorrect. The attitudinal scale consist of 25 claims, and the subjects are expected to express their agreement with the statements from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The social distance scale demands that the subject marks certain relationships with people with mental disorders as acceptable or unacceptable. The subject decides on the acceptability of having a person with a mental disorder for a neighbor, friend, educator or teacher of their own child, their own partner, a partner of their sibling, or a partner of their own child. The attitudes of the students are overwhelmingly positive, with a slight social distance towards people with mental disorders