Stigma And Its Reduction: The Role Of Knowledge, Causal Attribution, And Mental Disorder Type, Jesica N. Ferguson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Abstract

Research has shown undeniable evidence of mental illness stigma. Stigma has been shown to reduce treatment seeking and negatively impact emotion and cognition in individuals with mental illness (Livingstone & Boyd, 2010). By discovering the driving forces behind stigma, treatment seeking and quality of life can be improved for individuals with mental illness. This study investigates the effect of knowledge, disorder type, and causal attribution on mental illness stigma. Specifically, participants were assigned to one of two conditions, knowledge or no knowledge. Knowledge conditions included information about a disorder (schizophrenia or depression, depending on disorder condition) such as definition, …