Experiences of rejection by mental health patients— A qualitative study

Abstract

Background and aim: People suffering from mental illness and their experiences of attitudes towards them are rarely investigated from the perspective of the individual. The aim was to gain an understanding of how a group of mental health patients experienced social relationships in personal settings as well as in society. Method: Open interviews with twenty-five mental health patients were conducted and analysed with a qualitative content analysis. Result: The essence of the result was that mental health patients’ experiences are still not taken enough into account, neither by mental health professionals nor by their social networks. This was underpinned by four core categories: Patients’ experience of deteriorated and reduced social contacts due to various degrees of acceptance and knowledge of people in general; service users reported on difficulties with social contacts in general, with family relationships, relationships with friends and workmates and with employers; reduced life opportunities were expressed, including violated self-image and poor coping competence and, ambivalent experiences of contact with the mental health services were reported. Conclusion and clinical implication: The present study contributes to the understanding of mental health patients’ experiences of professional services and of their social networks. This knowledge may strengthen the implications of patient-centred care essential for the outcome of the care.

Share and Cite:

Lundberg, B. , Lundqvist, P. , Hansson, L. , Wentz, E. and Sivberg, B. (2013) Experiences of rejection by mental health patients— A qualitative study. Health, 5, 1553-1560. doi: 10.4236/health.2013.510211.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Bjorkman, T., Angelman, T. and Jonsson, M. (2008) Attitudes towards people with mental illness: A cross-sectional study among nursing staff in psychiatric and somatic care. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 22, 170-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2007.00509.x
[2] Leff, J. and Warner, R. (2006) Social inclusion of people with mental illness. NY University Press, Cambridge. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543937
[3] Hansson, L. and Bjorkman, T. (2005) Empowerment in people with a mental illness: Reliability and validity of the Swedish version of an empowerment scale. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 19, 32-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2004.00310.x
[4] Goffman, E. (1986) Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Touchstone Edition, New York.
[5] Link, B.G. and Phelan, J.C. (2001) Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review Sociology, 27, 363-385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.363
[6] Link, B.G., Yang, L.H., Phelan, J.C. and Collins, P.Y. (2004) Measuring mental illness stigma. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 30, 511-541.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a007098
[7] Schulze, B. and Angermeyer, M.C. (2003) Subjective experiences of stigma. A focus group study of schizophrenic patients, their relatives and mental health professsionals. Social Science & Medicine, 56, 299-312.
[8] Gonzalez-Torres, M.A., Oraa, R., Aristegui, M., Fernandez-Rivas, A. and Guimon, J. (2007) Stigma and discrimination towards people with schizophrenia and their family members. A qualitative study with focus groups. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 14-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-006-0126-3
[9] Lakeman, R., McGowan, P., MacGabhann, L., Parkinson, M., Redmond, M., Sibitz, I., et al. (2012) A qualitative study exploring experiences of discrimination associated with mental-health problems in Ireland. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 21, 271-279. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S2045796012000017
[10] Halding, A.G., Heggdal, K. andWahl, A. (2011) Experiences of self-blame and stigmatisation for self-infliction among individuals living with COPD. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 25, 100-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00796.x
[11] Buizza, C., Schulze, B., Bertocchi, E., Rossi, G., Ghilardi, A. and Pioli, R. (2007) The stigma of schizophrenia from patients’ and relatives’ view: A pilot study in an Italian rehabilitation residential care unit. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 3, 23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1745-0179-3-23
[12] Lundberg, B., Hansson, L., Wentz, E. and Bjorkman, T. (2007) Sociodemographic and clinical factors related to devaluation/discrimination and rejection experiences among users of mental health services. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 295-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-007-0160-9
[13] Burnard, P. (1991) A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research. Nurse Education Today, 11, 461-466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0260-6917(91)90009-Y
[14] Burnard, P. (1996) Teaching the analysis of textual data: An experiential approach. Nurse Education Today, 16, 278-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0260-6917(96)80115-8
[15] Helsinki Declaration. World Medical Association (2008) Ethical principles for Medical Research involving Human Subjects.
http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.html
[16] Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (2005) The sage handbook of qualitative research. 3rd Edition, Sage Publications Ltd., London.
[17] Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.G. (1985) Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publication, Thousand Oaks.
[18] Thornicroft, G., Brohan, E., Rose, D., Sartorius, N. and Leese, M. (2009) Global pattern of experienced and anticipated discrimination against people with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional survey. Lancet, 373, 408-415.
[19] Ucok, A., Brohan, E., Rose, D., Sartorius, N., Leese, M., Yoon, C.K., et al. (2012) Anticipated discrimination among people with schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 125, 77-83.
[20] Larson, J.E. and Corrigan, P. (2008) The stigma of families with mental illness. Academic Psychiatry, 32, 87-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.32.2.87
[21] Thornicroft, G. (2006) Actions speak louder—Tackling discrimination against people with mental illness. Mental Health Foundation, London.
[22] Sayce, L. (2003) Beyond good intentions. Making anti-discrimination strategies work. Disability & Society, 18, 625-642. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0968759032000097852
[23] Angermeyer, M.C., Beck, M., Dietrich, S. and Holzinger, A. (2004) The stigma of mental illness: Patients’ anticipations and experiences. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 50, 153-162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020764004043115
[24] Smart, L. and Wegner, D.M. (1999) Covering up what can’t be seen: Concealable stigma and mental control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 474-486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.3.474
[25] Lv, Y., Wolf, A. and Wang, X. (2012) Experienced stigma and self-stigma in Chinese patients with schizophrenia. General Hospital Psychiatry.
[26] Smart, L. and Wegner, D.M. (2000) The hidden costs of hidden stigma. In: Heatherton, T.F., Kleck, R.E., Hebl, M.R. and Hull, J.G., Eds., The Social Psychology of Stigma, Guilford, New York, 220-242.
[27] Schulze, B. (2007) Stigma and mental health professionals: A review of the evidence on an intricate relationship. International Review of Psychiatry, 19, 137-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540260701278929
[28] Buchanan, J. (1995) Social support and schizophrenia: A review of the literature. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 9, 68-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9417(95)80003-4
[29] Thornicroft, G., Rose, D., Huxley, P., Dale, G. and Wykes, T. (2002) What are the research priorities of mental health service users? Journal of Mental Health, 26, 123-131.
[30] Beels, C.C., Gutwirth, L., Berkeley, J. and Struening, E. (1984) Measurements of social support in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 10, 399-411.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/schbul/10.3.399
[31] Chamberlain, J. (2005) User/consumer involvement in mental health service delivery. Epidemiologica e Psichiatria Sociale, 14, 10-14.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1121189X00001871
[32] Bolton, J. (2003) Code of ethics for social work: BASW.
[33] Allen, M.H., Carpenter, D., Sheets, J.L., Miccio, S. and Ross, R. (2003) What do consumers say they want and need during a psychiatric emergency? Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 9, 39-58.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.