“As soon as people hear that word…”: associative stigma among clinicians working with people with serious mental illness
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-12-2016-0055 |
| Date | 19 March 2018 |
| Pages | 20-28 |
| Published date | 19 March 2018 |
| Author | Beth A. Vayshenker,Joseph DeLuca,Timothy Bustle,Philip Yanos |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
“As soon as people hear that word…”:
associative stigma among clinicians
working with people with serious
mental illness
Beth A. Vayshenker, Joseph DeLuca, Timothy Bustle and Philip Yanos
Abstract
Purpose –Stigma by association occurs when members affiliated with a marginalized group become
discredited themselves. The purpose of this paper is to explore associative stigma among mental health (MH)
clinicians working with individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI).
Design/methodology/approach –In total, 47 eligible service providers completed an online qualitative
study, with open-ended questions about areas touching on associative stigma such as assumptions about
the MH profession, personal experiences of work-related stigma, and ways of coping.
Findings –The data revealed that MH c linicians commonly end orse experiences of assoc iative
stigma. The following themes were derived: experiences of stigma in describing the profession to others,
media portrayal of MH profe ssionals, assumptions about the field, ascriptions of persona l characteristics,
job devaluation, means of coping with associati ve stigma, and impact of asso ciative stigma on
work on clients.
Originality/value –This is the first qualitative study to examine the phenomenon of associative stigma with
MH clinicians. This study suggests that MH providers working with people with SMI do encounter associative
stigma when discussing their profession with community members. Professionals discussed encountering
the stereotype that the work that they do is dangerous, that it is something “unwanted”and that it does not
require much skill but could be done by anyone. Associative stigma could be an important component in the
understanding of factors related to professional burnout.
Keywords Mental health professionals, Stigma by association
Paper type Research paper
Stigma occurs when negative stereotypes are attached to a label in the context of a power
differential (Link and Phelan, 2001); the attachment of these negative stereotypes then leads to a
range of behavioral expressions toward members of the labeled group, including social rejection
and discrimination (Thornicroft, 2006). Research has demonstrated that mental illness stigma is
prevalent around the world, and more so toward persons diagnosed with serious mental
illnesses (SMIs; Pescosolido et al., 2013).
Courtesy or associative stigma refers to the process by which people associated with a
“tainted”group in society experience some form of discredit themselves. Goffman (1963) wrote
about the rippling effects of stigma: “The problems faced by stigmatized persons spread out in
waves, but of dimini shing intensity”(p. 28). F rom this perspective, it would be expected that
people connected to “stigmatized per sons”may also experience less inte nse forms of stigma.
Within mental heal th (MH), associ ative stigma has bee n primarily explore d in the context of
family members’experiences (Corrigan and Miller, 2004). Associative stigma experiences
described in the lite rature include comm unity member attit udes such as the view tha t family
members of people w ith mental illnes s have diminished st atus as a result of the ir association,
as well as behaviors such as jokes and remarks communicating negative stereotypes about
Received 5 December 2016
Revised 3 October 2017
Accepted 31 October 2017
Beth A. Vayshenker and
Joseph DeLuca are both based
at the Department of
Psychology, John Jay College
and CUNY Graduate Center,
New York, New York, USA.
Timothy Bustle is based at the
Department of Psychology,
John Jay College, New York,
New York, USA.
Philip Yanos is based at the
John Jay College and CUNY
Graduate Center, New York,
New York, USA.
PAG E 20
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH
j
VOL. 17 NO. 1 2018, pp. 20-28, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729 DOI 10.1108/JPMH-12-2016-0055
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