Internalized stigma of mental illness in Sweden and Iran—A comparative study

Lars Jacobsson, Helia Ghanean, Birgitta Törnkvist

Department of Psychiatry, Ume? University, Ume?, Sweden.
Department of Statistics, Ume? University, Ume?, Sweden.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpsych.2013.34039                

Abstract

Objectives: Stigma and discrimination because of mental illness is still prevalent even in high-income countries where a lot of emphasis has been given to anti-stigma activities and measures to reduce the marginalization of these persons. One aspect of the stigma issue is the self-stigmatization that persons suffering from mental illness are experiencing. In this study two different societies have been compared as regards internalized stigma of mental illness. Methods: A widely used questionnaire was used by the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI). One sample of psychiatric patients from Sweden (N = 163) and from Iran (N = 138) is compared. Results: The Swedish sample generally reports lower levels of experienced stigma except for items covering selfblame and feelings of alienation. Conclusions: There are reasons to consider the aspect of self-stigmatization when working with mentally ill persons even in high income countries with well developed mental health services.

Keywords

Mental Disorders; Internalized Stigma; Iran; Sweden

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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