The different faces of mental illness stigma: systematic variation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by type of illness

Mental Illness stigma has been characterised as multi-dimensional including problems of knowledge (stereotypes), attitudes (prejudice) and behaviour (discrimination); however, most research practice is predominantly applying unidimensional behavioural measures such as social distance scales. Moreover, specific types of mental illnesses and different forms of discriminatory behaviours are not being differentiated. The Stereotype Content Model predicts that group stereotypes (warmth, competence) are linked with different forms of discriminatory behaviours (harm or facilitation) via emotional prejudices (pity, envy, contempt). The present study sought to establish how differential stereotypic perceptions of mental illness subgroups elicit distinct forms of behavioural discrimination via emotional prejudices. A community sample (N = 60) was randomly assigned to one of three conditions representing mental illnesses across the warmth-competence stereotype space. Patterns of self-completed measures for stereotypes, emotions and behaviours differed significantly between conditions. The association between stereotypes and behaviours were largely mediated by emotions. Systematic patterns of stereotypic perceptions, emotional prejudices and behavioural discrimination are present for individuals with different types of mental illnesses. Hence, generic measures of discrimination, such as social distance scales, may be misguiding. Intervention strategies should consider the systematic variation of the factors involved in stigma, differentiating by type of mental illness and discriminatory behaviours