Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov;3(4):348-376.
doi: 10.1037/sah0000104. Epub 2017 Sep 21.

Conceptualizing and Measuring Mental Illness Stigma: The Mental Illness Stigma Framework and Critical Review of Measures

Annie B Fox  1 , Valerie A Earnshaw  2   3 , Emily C Taverna  1 , Dawne Vogt  1   4
Affiliations

Conceptualizing and Measuring Mental Illness Stigma: The Mental Illness Stigma Framework and Critical Review of Measures

Annie B Fox et al. Stigma Health. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Although the last decade has seen a proliferation of research on mental illness stigma, lack of consistency and clarity in both the conceptualization and measurement of mental illness stigma has limited the accumulation of scientific knowledge about mental illness stigma and its consequences. In the present article, we bring together the different foci of mental illness stigma research with the Mental Illness Stigma Framework (MISF). The MISF provides a common framework and set of terminology for understanding mechanisms of mental illness stigma that are relevant to the study of both the stigmatized and the stigmatizer. We then apply this framework to systematically review and classify stigma measures used in the past decade according to their corresponding stigma mechanisms. We identified more than 400 measures of mental illness stigma, two thirds of which had not undergone any systematic psychometric evaluation. Stereotypes and discrimination received the most research attention, while mechanisms that focus on the perspective of individuals with mental illness (e.g., experienced, anticipated, or internalized stigma) have been the least studied. Finally, we use the MISF to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of mental illness stigma measurement, identify gaps in the literature, and provide recommendations for future research.

Keywords: Mental Illness Stigma Framework; mental illness stigma; stigma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of Stigma-Related Peer-Reviewed Publications appearing in searches of EBSCO/PsycInfo databases, PubMed, and Web of Science, 2004–2014
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mental Health Stigma Measures Identified in searches of EBSCO/PsycInfo databases, PubMed, and Web of Science, 2004–2014
Figure 3
Figure 3
The Mental Illness Stigma Framework
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abdullah T, Brown TL. Mental illness stigma and ethnocultural beliefs, values, and norms: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review. 2011;31:934–948. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.05.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Allport GW. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. Vol. 35. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. and research; 1954/1979. The nature of prejudice; pp. 1–9. - DOI
    1. Angermeyer MC, Dietrich S. Public beliefs about and attitudes towards people with mental illness: A review of population studies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2006;113:163–179. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00699.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Angermeyer MC, Matschinger H. Social distance towards the mentally ill: Results of representative surveys in the Federal Republic of Germany. Psychological Medicine. 1997;27:131–141. doi: 10.1017/S0033291796004205. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Angermeyer MC, Matschinger H. The stigma of mental illness: Effects of labelling on public attitudes towards people with mental disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2003;108:304–308. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00150.x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources