Author(s)

Dimitra Lekka¹, Anna Madoglou², Vasia I. Karamanoli³, Vasiliki Yotsidi², George Alexias², Eirini Karakasidou^2*, Konstantina Prassa², Aikaterini Avgoustaki², Maria Christopoulou², Christos Pezirkianidis², Konstantina Orlandou², Vasileia Arachoviti², Anastassios Stalikas²

¹Department of Psychiatry, Thoracic Diseases General Hospital Sotiria, Athens, Greece.
²Department of Psychology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece.
³Psychology, Hellenic Military Academy, Athens, Greece.

Background: The concept of dehumanization keeps pace with human history and means the denial of humanness to another human being. Purpose: The aim of this review is to study the literature in the field of mental health to investigate the existence of dehumanization. Method: A literature review was conducted from 2002 to 2022 using keywords in Google scholar, Pubmed, PsycInfo and Scopus Databases. Results: It seems that there are some mental disorders that have dehumanizing characteristics. Also the way the diagnostic manuals of mental disorders are used (DSM-5), the communication between specialist-patient, the labels and the stigma of the mental illness, the biogenetic explanations of the mental disorders and the characteristics of the psychiatric clinics. Conclusion: The literature review shows that patients with mental disorders experience dehumanization and therefore measures should be taken to prevent and limit the phenomenon.

Mental Disorders, Hospital Settings, Dehumanization, Stigma, Labels

Lekka, D. , Madoglou, A. , Karamanoli, V. , Yotsidi, V. , Alexias, G. , Karakasidou, E. , Prassa, K. , Avgoustaki, A. , Christopoulou, M. , Pezirkianidis, C. , Orlandou, K. , Arachoviti, V. and Stalikas, A. (2022) Mental Disorders and Dehumanization: A Systematic Review. Psychology, 13, 1343-1352. doi: 10.4236/psych.2022.139087.