Contents of stereotypes toward mental illness

Sonmez B., KARAOĞLU K. M.

CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY, vol.42, no.30, pp.26545-26554, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 42 Issue: 30
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s12144-022-03693-9
  • Journal Name: CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, BIOSIS, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.26545-26554
  • Keywords: Mental illness, Mental disorders, Competence, Warmth, Stereotypes, PERSONALITY-DISORDER, SOCIAL DISTANCE, PEOPLE, COMPETENCE, ATTITUDES, STIGMA, WARMTH, DISCRIMINATION, SCHIZOPHRENIA, POPULATION
  • Ankara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

In previous research, people with different mental disorders are perceived with different stereotypes (Sadler et al., 2012). The present study examined how psychology students in Turkey perceive the common diseases in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Undergraduate students (N = 290) rated 15 mental illness groups' warmth and competence using the stereotype content model scales. The cluster analysis results revealed that the mental disorders fall into five clusters in terms of warmth and competence. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, and depression were perceived warmer than competent. Similarly, participants rated people with an eating disorder and panic disorder as warmer than competent. Moreover, the analyses showed that mental illness groups differed in warmth and competence. Finally, this study researched which mental disorder groups were mixed stereotypes. Accordingly, five groups were perceived to be significantly more competent than warm, and eight were significantly more warm than competent.