Family members’ experiences of courtesy stigma associated with mental illness

Health SA Gesondheid

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Family members’ experiences of courtesy stigma associated with mental illness
 
Creator Gaolaolwe, Wada Manyedi, Eva Serapelwane, Maserapelo
 
Subject — courtesy stigma; mental illness; family; labelling; self-stigma; mental illness discrimination; stigma by association; mental illness stereotypes
Description Background: The stigma of mental illness has been in existence from medieval times to date and it is extended to families of people diagnosed with mental illness. Families with a member diagnosed with a mental illness experience courtesy stigma of mental illness and it affects the quality of their lives.Aim: This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of courtesy stigma of families with a member diagnosed with a mental illness in Lobatse, Botswana.Setting: The study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital in Lobatse, Botswana.Methods: A qualitative contextual phenomenological design was used for this study. The population comprised of members from families with a person diagnosed with a mental illness and the sample size was 15 participants. Semi-structured in-depth individual interviews were conducted telephonically.Results: The study yielded three main themes and related subthemes. The themes were: families’ experiences of received stigma, families’ experiences of stigma by association, and families’ experiences of internal stigma.Conclusion: Families with a member diagnosed with mental illness experience received stigma, associated stigma and internal stigma. The families experienced that they received dehumanising labels from the public because of their association with their mentally ill family members.Contribution: With the insights gained from the findings of this study, programmes can be developed that raise awareness on stigma of mental illness and to promote support of families of people diagnosed with a mental illness.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor North West University (Faculty of Health Sciences and the post-graduate degree bursaries)
Date 2023-08-29
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hsag.v28i0.2184
 
Source Health SA Gesondheid; Vol 28 (2023); 11 pages 2071-9736 1025-9848
 
Language eng
 
Relation
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https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2184/html https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2184/epub https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2184/xml https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2184/pdf
 
Coverage Lobatse, Botswana — 45; male; black
Rights Copyright (c) 2023 Wada Gaolaolwe, Eva Manyedi, Maserapelo Serapelwane https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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