Community Psychology Commons^™

Factors Influencing Community Responses To Hoarding: Evaluating Operational Culture Of Hoarding Task Forces, Stigma, And Successful Outcomes, Leslie Gail

Dissertations

Hoarding is generally recognized as a pervasive need to acquire and retain items past the point of maintaining safe living spaces. Ushered into popular culture through television shows highlighting conflict, awareness of hoarding has increased. Experts report this condition affects 2-5% of the adult population, but this figure does not include children, family, neighbors, and community members (Buscher et al., 2013; Minor and Youth Children of Hoarding Parents, 2021). A unique feature of hoarding is the myriad of ways it is discovered.” People who hoard may keep conditions a secret due to a lack of awareness, concerns about forced remediation, …

Stigma And Anxiety As Barriers To Help-Seeking Among University Of Richmond Students, Allison Walters

Honors Theses

There is a growing need for mental health services in the United States due to increased rates of psychopathology. Emerging adults, ages ranging from 18 to 24 years, experience high rates of psychopathology and thus have a strong need for available mental health treatments (Eisenberg et al., 2007). Despite this need and the efficacy of mental health treatment as a whole, there are many barriers to treatment utilization, including stigma. This study examines level of anxiety and stigma as barriers to help-seeking using data collected through the Healthy Minds Survey at the University of Richmond. Moderation analyses revealed that anxiety …

Stigma And Criminalization Of Mental Health In An Inpatient Versus Jail Setting, Zachary C. B. Dumay, Jessica T. Harnais, Christina M. Cerminara

The Graduate Review

Stigmatization is the perceived, negative stereotype assigned to a group of individuals. This stigmatization has contributed to the criminalization of mental health, meaning that individuals with mental health issues are more likely to be arrested for behaviors that are not criminal. This project examines mental health stigma toward an individual in a psychiatric setting and a correctional setting. We hypothesized that when reading a vignette about an individual experiencing a mental health crisis, participants will stigmatize them more if they are incarcerated than if they are in a psychiatric facility. Results showed that participants exhibited a higher level of discrimination …

Xenophobia And Racism Against Asian Americans During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Implications, Hsiu-Lan Cheng

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Loss, Grief, And Racial Health Disparities During Covid-19: Same Storm, Different Boats, Joyce Yang, Sierra Carter

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Issue: Evaluating The Psychological Impact Of Covid 19, Saera R. Khan, Christine J. Yeh

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

Evaluating COVID 19 in its entirety is an enormous undertaking--one which will take many years and many scholars from every academic discipline to fully convey the impact of this disaster. In this three-part Special Issue of the Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship, we present current understandings of the immediate impact of COVID 19. The authors of these contributions participated in a webinar series produced by the University of San Francisco’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Center for Research, Artistic, and Scholarly Excellence in March through May 2020. Scholars from various academic sub-disciplines were invited to discuss the impact of …

Resilience Among Survivors Of Adverse Childhood Experiences In Appalachia, Bridget Jeter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The empirical investigation of adverse childhood events (ACEs) and their relationship with health and well-being outcomes in later life is increasing. Less is known about factors that may promote resilience for those who have survived such challenges, such as how resilience may be facilitated for those with ACEs residing in a marginalized region such as South Central Appalachia. Multidimensional spirituality, social support, stigma related to ACEs, and Appalachian acculturation may serve as both valid cultural factors and potential indicators of resilience. Cross-sectional, simultaneous multiple regression analysis was performed on data collected from 272 adult patients of a South Central Appalachian …

The Effects And Experiences Of Stigma In The Minneapolis Strip Club Industry, Machensey Shelgren

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Utilizing participatory action research with dancers in the Minneapolis strip club industry, the present study examined current dancers’ experiences with stigma, its effects on their quality of life, and stigma management techniques. The present multi-methods study involved an initial survey and follow-up interviews with approximately 60 current dancers within Minneapolis strip clubs. Participants reported experiencing stigma in personal relationships and in the workplace, discrimination by landlords and future employers. Through thematic analysis, seven key themes were identified: dancer identity, assumptions made, loss of social support, profession weaponized against them, housing discrimination, lack of employment mobility, and identity concealment as stigma …

The Impact Of Higher Education, Ethnicity, & The Intersection Of Both On Perceptions Of People With Mental Illness, Natalie Crocker

MA Community Psychology Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore how higher education and ethnicity may individually impact perceptions of people with mental illness, as well as to explore the intersection of higher education and ethnicity on such perceptions. Descriptive phenomenological in design, this study explores the experiences of ten students at a university in Portland, Oregon. In semi-structured, open-ended interviews participants recalled experiences in which higher education, ethnicity, and the intersection of both impacted how they thought about mental illness. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) seven-step process. The analysis resulted in several themes supporting the current literature …

Log Kya Kahenge: Psychological Well-Being And Perceived Stigma In The South Asian American Community, Khushboo Jain

Pomona Senior Theses

Current research has independently studied depression, stigma, and coping mechanisms in relation to culture, yet the effects of perceived stigma on the relationship between depression and control coping are heavily understudied. Typically, studies have broadly focused on comparing eastern and western cultures, but have not analyzed how populations with mixed cultural influences experience depression and stigma and further engage in control coping mechanisms. This study thus explores how perceived stigma moderates the relationship between depressive symptoms and control coping mechanisms for South Asian Americans. The study hypothesizes that the level of perceived stigma will moderate the relationship between depression and …

Mental Illness Stigma And Community Integration: Linking Perceived Experiences With Reported Behavior, Lauren L. Gonzales

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the relationship between individual and neighborhood characteristics, stigmatizing experiences, and measures of community integration among individuals with mental illness. Surveys were administered to two samples: 608 community member participants and 343 participants with mental health diagnoses. Participants in both samples were recruited from 3 community sites in the New York City metropolitan area: East/Central Harlem in Manhattan, Crown Heights/East Flatbush in Brooklyn, and Yonkers and Mt. Vernon in Southern Westchester. Negative symptoms and perceived level of community microaggressions were strong predictors of community integration for participants with mental illness. Prior contact with mental illness predicted less stigmatizing …

The Experience Of Mental Health Practitioners With Computer Games Designed To Induce Empathy, Jordan Reed

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Though mental health care providers’ primary function is to facilitate improved outcomes for their clients, providers who have stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness can compromise therapeutic outcomes for those living with mental disorders. The therapeutic relationship is the component of care most closely tied to therapeutic outcomes, and this relationship is often jeopardized by provider stigma. Training and mid-career interventions to reduce stigma by enhancing provider empathy for persons with mental illness show varying levels of effectiveness and a majority of these use lecture based instruction. Interventions that engage mental health providers in the experience of persons with mental health …

“I Wonder What You Think Of Me”: A Qualitative Approach To Examining Stereotype Awareness In Appalachian Students, Chelsea G. Adams

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Historically, Appalachia has been stereotyped as being a culture bred in poverty and ignorance. Much research has shown that stereotyping reveals a pattern of behavioral change and an impact on psychological well-being for the stereotyped (e.g., Pinel, 1999; Woodcock, Jernandez, Estrada, & Schultz, 2012), and has largely been centered on race and gender (e.g., Byrnes, 2008; Tuckman & Monetti, 2011). Less is known about the development of culture-specific stereotypes such as those related to Appalachians – a highly stigmatized group (Daniels, 2014; Otto, 2002). The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how adolescents in rural Appalachia …

Madness In The Media: Understanding How People With Lived Experience Interpret Newspaper Headlines, Da Qing Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is research on media representations of mental health that suggests there is a tendency to portray mental health as problematic and those who are affected by mental illness as dangerous. It is evident there has been an increase in anti-stigma media campaigns. However, the effects of these efforts on beliefs held by members of the public has been mixed. What is most surprising from the literature is a lack of research about how people who have personal experience with mental illness interpret media messages. Individuals with and without lived experience participated in a structured conceptualization process known as concept …

Burnout And Depression: Label-Related Stigma, Help-Seeking, And Syndrome Overlap, Renzo Bianchi, Jay Verkuilen, Romain Brisson, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We investigated whether burnout and depression differed in terms of public stigma and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Secondarily, we examined the overlap of burnout and depressive symptoms. A total of 1046 French schoolteachers responded to an Internet survey in November–December 2015. The survey included measures of public stigma, help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, burnout and depressive symptoms, self-rated health, neuroticism, extraversion, history of anxiety or depressive disorder, social desirability, and sociodemographic variables.The burnout label appeared to be less stigmatizing than the depression label. In either case, however, fewer than 1% of the participants exhibited stigma scores signaling agreement with the proposed …

Burnout And Depression: Label-Related Stigma, Help-Seeking, And Syndrome Overlap, Renzo Bianchi, Jay Verkuilen, Romain Brisson, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We investigated whether burnout and depression differed in terms of public stigma and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Secondarily, we examined the overlap of burnout and depressive symptoms. A total of 1046 French schoolteachers responded to an Internet survey in November–December 2015. The survey included measures of public stigma, help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, burnout and depressive symptoms, self-rated health, neuroticism, extraversion, history of anxiety or depressive disorder, social desirability, and socio-demographic variables. The burnout label appeared to be less stigmatizing than the depression label. In either case, however, fewer than 1% of the participants exhibited …

Stigma, Community Connectedness, And Social Support Among Trans Women Living With Hiv In Ontario: Findings From The Trans Pulse Project, Tanya D'Amours

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Trans (transgender, transsexual, transitioned) individuals face numerous challenges to their health and well-being (Bauer, Hammond, Travers, Kaay, Hohenadel & Boyce, 2009). Trans women in particular face disproportionately high rates of negative health outcomes, including HIV. Trans women face intersecting stigmas, which result in transphobia, trans erasure, isolation, and other systemic barriers to their well-being (Logie, James, Tharao, & Loutfy, 2012a). Despite their elevated risk, trans women, particularly those living with HIV, are invisible, neglected or underrepresented in research (Logie, et al., 2012a). Research suggests that community connectedness and social support are factors that impact the wellness of marginalized people (Kertzner, …

Impact Of Stigma On Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help For Depression, Anna Marie Dierks

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting almost seven percent of Americans each year. Although mental illness treatment through professional psychological services has been proven to be effective, underutilization of these services is high. Underutilization of seeking help could lead to serious consequences, such as suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults aged 15-34 years old and in 2013 the highest rates of suicide were among adults aged 45-64 years old. Stigma has been viewed as a barrier to seeking professional psychological help.

Two age groups were chosen for this research due …

The Effects Of Construal Level On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward An Individual With Mental Illness, Jeremy Glenn Gay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People with mental illness often face stigmatization by society. However, little research has examined cognitive factors that may activate or dissipate stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental illness. Construal level, or the extent that people focus on abstract generalizations versus concrete details of events, may be one such cognitive factor. Two contradictory hypotheses emerged concerning how construal may affect stigmatizing attitudes. One hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will decrease stigmatization because abstract construals tend to increase the activation of similar goals, thus leading to a similarity focus. In contrast, another hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will increase stigmatization because abstract …

“Don’T Talk About It”: Investigating The Effects Of Pei’S Cultural Silence On Abortion Access And Advocacy From The Perspective Of Advocates And Support People, Emily A. Rutledge

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As an arm of a greater study that investigates the impacts of PEI's abortion restriction over the past two decades, "Don't talk about it" explores the situation from the perspective of support people and advocates to abortion access including; their emotional experiences of support and advocacy, the associated risks and repercussions, as well as their understandings of the barriers, facilitators and impacts of compromised access to off-Island services for PEI women and girls. Key findings show an overarching culture of silence and blame surrounding abortion on PEI, reinforced by stigma and repercussions for those speaking out. This silence serves to …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Suicide Stigma, Amanda L. Demmer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Suicide is a stigmatized phenomenon within our society, and the stigma felt by individuals who struggle with suicide (suicide stigma) must be reduced if society aims at lowering suicide rates. Research on mental health stigma indicates that stigma can reduce help-seeking, lead to low self efficacy or negative self-talk, and can be detrimental to the recovery process. Suicide stigma research has focused on the perpetrators of the stigma, but research on those who are stigmatized has not been conducted. Research objectives for the current study are to explore public stigma, self stigma, and recommendations for reducing stigma giving voice to …