Testing Social Cognitive Models of Mental Illness Stigma: The Prairie State Stigma Studies

Abstract

Social cognitive models of stigma define the relationship among: signals that suggest a person is mentally ill, stigmatizing attitudes about the person with mental illness, affective reactions to the stigmatizing attitude, and behavior responses to these attitudes and emotions. The Prairie State Stigma Studies were a set of investigations completed over the past five years examining stigma from the perspective of the general public. Several of the studies examined path models that explain the relationship between stigmatizing attitudes and discriminatory behavior. Among the many results was the finding that stigmatizing attitudes about dangerousness were especially problematic, leading to fear and avoidance of persons with mental illness. The studies also examined ways to change stigmatizing attitudes and corresponding behaviors. Results suggested that contact with persons who are challenged by psychiatric disabilities has a broad and positive effect on public stigma. Future directions for research on social cognitive models of stigma are discussed.