Mental Health Stigma in English and Spanish-Speaking Countries

iv Mental health stigma, defined as negative attitudes and behaviors targeted towards individuals that appear to have a mental health disorder, is one of the most pressing issues faced by individuals with mental disorders (Corrigan, 2004). As a result, many individuals facing psychological health issues elect not to seek treatment due to fears of how they will be perceived and treated by other members of society. Research has shown that mental health stigma is a global phenomenon and is not limited to the US and other English-speaking nations (Pescosolido et al. 2013). The aim of this study was to examine differences in mental health stigma between an English-speaking in the United States and a South American Spanish-speaking population. Given the exploratory nature of this cross-cultural study, we hypothesized that there would be unspecified differences in stigma perception between populations. In addition, we hypothesized that high levels of stigma would predict high levels of psychological distress, and the relationship between these variables would differ between populations. Analysis (N = 98) revealed that there was no significant difference in stigma between populations, t (96) = 1.18, p = . 239, suggesting cultural equivalence of stigma. Contrary to expectations, higher stigma levels were found to predict lower levels of psychological distress (r = .30, p = .003), with the relationship between stigma and distress stronger in the Spanish-speaking population, r = -. 39, p = . 005, than the English-speaking population, r = -. 20, p = . 308. Implications of these findings and directions for future research will be discussed. Running head: MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA ENGLISH AND SPANISH 1 Mental Health Stigma in English and Spanish-Speaking Countries Mental health stigma is one of the most pressing issues faced by individuals with mental disorders. Mental health stigma is commonly defined as negative attitudes and/or behaviors targeted toward individuals that appear to have a mental health disorder (Corrigan, 2004). Corrigan (2004) identified four core processes of mental health stigma: cues, or perceived abnormalities in a person’s appearance or behavior that lead an observer to conclude that the observed has some form of mental disorder; stereotypes about people with mental illness (e.g., all mentally ill people are violent or are responsible for their own condition, etc.); prejudice, or the embracing of negative stereotypes about mentally ill individuals; and finally, discrimination, negative actions taken against a person with a mental disorder on the basis of one’s prejudice, such as avoidance of mentally ill people. Corrigan (2000) also offers a model of social attribution to explain why people experience mental health stigma. Corrigan says that when most people observe cues from people with mental illness, they are predisposed to seek out or come up with an explanation for these strange behaviors. In addition, peoples’ attitudes toward those with mental illness are often determined by the perception of control over a person’s symptoms. If one believes someone is not in control of their symptoms, they are more likely to display helping behavior driven by pity, whereas someone believed to be controlling their symptoms and acting out deliberately is more likely to be met with punishing behavior driven by