The internalization of public stigma by persons with serious mental illnesses may lead to self-stigma, which harms self-esteem, self-efficacy, and empowerment. Previous research has evaluated a hierarchical model that distinguishes among stereotype awareness, agreement, application to self, and harm to self with the 40-item Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (SSMIS). This study addressed SSMIS critiques (too long, contains offensive items that discourages test completion) by strategically omitting half of the original scale's items. Here we report reliability and validity of the 20-item short form (SSMIS-SF) based on data from three previous studies. Retained items were rated less offensive by a sample of consumers. Results indicated adequate internal consistencies for each subscale. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed subscale means progressively diminished from awareness to harm. In support of its validity, the harm subscale was found to be inversely and significantly related to self-esteem, self-efficacy, empowerment, and hope. After controlling for level of depression, these relationships remained significant with the exception of the relation between empowerment and harm SSMIS-SF subscale. Future research with the SSMIS-SF should evaluate its sensitivity to change and its stability through test-rest reliability.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3439592PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2012.04.009DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

self-stigma mental
8
mental illness
8
reliability validity
8
self-esteem self-efficacy
8
self-efficacy empowerment
8
illness scale--short
4
scale--short form
4
form reliability
4
validity internalization
4
internalization public
4

Similar Publications

Introduction: The study aimed to evaluate, both comparatively and longitudinally, the effects of receiving services from community mental health centers on the stigma levels of patients and relatives and the burden of care for patients with severe mental illness.

Methods: The study was planned to be conducted on patients with severe mental illness [schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) and bipolar disorder (BD)] and their relatives, followed by the community mental health center (CMHC group) and the outpatient clinic (outpatient group). It was planned to provide psychoeducation to relatives once a month for 2 h; meetings with the case manager at least once every 2 weeks; and psychosocial interventions (social inclusion, daily life activities studies, etc.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Magnitude and correlates of internalised stigma among outpatient psychiatric service users in southeast central Ethiopia.

BMC Psychiatry

January 2025

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Health, School of Public Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.

Background: Stigma is recognised as one of the most significant barriers to treatment for people with mental health conditions. However, limited studies are available in low-resource settings.

Objectives: To assess the magnitude of internalised stigma and associated factors among people with mental health conditions attending tertiary outpatient psychiatric services in Ethiopia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Internalization of weight bias and stigma: Scientific challenges and opportunities.

Am Psychol

December 2024

Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida.

Weight bias and stigma are widespread, unjust, and harmful to health. Increased empirical attention to the internalization of weight bias and stigma (or weight self-stigma) has revealed significant health implications that require further study and intervention. This review summarizes current knowledge on the conceptualization, measurement, prevalence, and correlates of internalized weight stigma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Exploring Stigma Towards People with Schizophrenia in Mass Media and Their Private Discourses.

Rev Colomb Psiquiatr (Engl Ed)

December 2024

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Introduction: It has been shown that public stigma towards people with schizophrenia hinders their psychosocial integration. Public stigma expresses itself through lexical labels used in the print media and social networks, heightening the internalization of stigma in this population, a phenomenon known as internalised stigma or self-stigma. This paper analyses the diffusion in the mass media of two dimensions of stigma: public stigma and self-stigma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The survey of the status of self-stigma of depression and its relationship with demographic factors in Gonabad, Iran.

Front Psychiatry

November 2024

Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Social Development and Health Promotion Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran.

Introduction: Depression is a common mental illness. Depression stigma can reduce individuals' desire to seek mental health services. No study has investigated depression self-stigma and its relationship with demographic factors in the general population of Gonabad city in Iran.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!