Stigma resistance versus self-stigma in university students with mental health problems

Abstract

Self-stigma is the process by which an individual is aware of, agrees with, and internalizes demeaning societal stereotypes and prejudices. Stigma resistance is when an individual may be aware of societal stigma, yet they ignore or challenge the stereotypes and resist internalizing stigma. This current research examined self-stigma and stigma resistance in the realm of mental health help-seeking and mental illness (i.e., depression and anxiety). I aimed to investigate how intrapersonal factors and life experiences contributed to mental health stigma resistance. Study 1 employed online mixed method research with 366 participants to explore how self-compassion, self-coldness, and mental health self-efficacy may impact stigma resistance and potentially moderate the relationship between perceived and self-stigmas of help-seeking and of depression and anxiety. Study 2 utilized an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach with five participants with depression or anxiety to explore their lived experiences of resisting mental health stigma. Study 1 revealed that self-compassion had an approaching significant moderating effect on self-stigma of help-seeking, and self-efficacy had a significant moderating effect on self-stigma of depression and anxiety, yet self-compassion and self-efficacy, but not self-coldness, had main effects on mental health stigma resistance. Study 2 constructed six superordinate themes of stigma resistance: accepting one’s mental health experiences, transparency about mental health experiences, blocking public stigma, taking actions to better oneself, receiving social support, and extending stigma resistance to others. Rather than focusing on reducing negative psychosocial factors, these findings point toward empowering traits and experiences that can be targeted to increase stigma resistance.