The role of moral explanations and structural inequalities in experiences of mental illness stigma in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2395428 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Patrícia Neves Guimarães (0000-0002-1852-2945, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, corresponding author), Duncan Pedersen (McGill University) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 188-201 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0041-1108 • E-ISSN: 0315-4386 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13634615211055000 |
| PMID | 34939877 |
| OpenAlex | W4200246508 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
The process of stigmatization within different cultural contexts has long been viewed as essential in understanding the course and outcomes of mental illness. However, little research has examined which cultural constructs and categories are used to explain mental illness, and how they contribute to the way people with mental illness experience stigma and social exclusion, as well as how these beliefs affect healthcare practices. This study examines meanings ascribed to mental illness and experiences of stigma among four groups in urban settings of Minas Gerais, Brazil: persons with mental illness; their families; members of the lay public; and health professionals working at an alternative community-based psychosocial treatment service or a local university hospital. Qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and participant observation, were conducted with a purposive sample of 72 participants. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings suggest that stigma and discrimination are intrinsically rooted in a systemic process of social exclusion generated by meanings ascribed to mental illness and the structural vulnerabilities of the mental healthcare system. The findings further suggest that structural inequality is a powerful factor behind lay concepts of mental illness and that this is particularly harmful because it reinforces personal blame attributions instead of addressing the hidden structural forces that contribute to mental illness. The study highlights the subtle interrelations between cultural beliefs and structural vulnerabilities that should be addressed in mental health policy in order to diminish the effects of stigma on people with mental illnesses
Attribution · Blame · Mental health · Mental illness · Middle Eastern Mental Health Issues & Syndromes · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Qualitative research · Sociology · Stigma (botany · Clinical Psychology · Community Health and Development · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology
Social stigma
The Brazilian health system
Qualitative evaluation and research methods
Barriers to improvement of mental health services in low-income and middle-income countries
Grand challenges in global mental health
Perceiving persons and groups.
What can be done about inequalities in health?
Stigma and its public health implications
Stigma in response to mental disorders
Global pattern of experienced and anticipated discrimination against people with schizophrenia
Embodying Inequality
Community study of knowledge of and attitude to mental illness in Nigeria
Medicine, Rationality and Experience
Public health as culture. The social construction of the childhood lead poisoning epidemic in France
Medicine and Morality in Haiti
Mental health professionals’ attitudes towards people with mental illness
Stigmatizing attributions about mental illness
Stigma as a Fundamental Cause of Population Health Inequalities
On sin versus sickness
Social stigma and self-esteem
Relation Between Racial Discrimination, Social Class, and Health Among Ethnic Minority Groups
How stigma interferes with mental health care
Dimensions of Mental Illness Stigma
Understanding Labeling Effects in the Area of Mental Disorders
Culture and stigma
Views of what's wrong
Structural competency
Pathologizing poverty
Intervening within and across levels
An Attribution Model of Public Discrimination Towards Persons with Mental Illness
Studying Mental Illness in Context
Rethinking cultural competence
Experiences of stigma and discrimination among users of mental health services in Poland
Conceptualizing Stigma
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |