Date of Award
6-2022
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Academic Program
Psychology BS
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Kelsey Bonfils, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Sara Jordan, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Sabine Heinhorst, Ph.D.
Advisor Department
Psychology
Abstract
Public stigma, or a set of negative attitudes and beliefs that can contribute to discrimination against those with mental illnesses, negatively affects behavioral health care and may be particularly prevalent in rural communities. The goal of this study was to examine public stigma across rural, suburban, and urban communities, as well as its association with mental health symptoms. An online survey was conducted using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) service as well as the University of Southern Mississippi’s SONA platform. Demographic data, community type, and mental health symptoms were collected via self-report inventories. When looking at the combined SONA (n= 298) and MTurk (n=126) sample (N=424), individuals who identified as belonging to an urban community reported increased perceptions of public stigma compared to those who identified as belonging to rural communities. Urban and suburban groups did not differ. Internalized stigma did not differ between community types. Schizotypal traits were significantly negatively correlated with perceptions of public stigma, while anxiety, depression, and schizotypal traits were positively correlated with internalized stigma. Findings regarding higher rates of public stigma in urban vs. rural communities were against hypotheses. This may be because mental illness is more visible in urban settings due to increased service centers and outreach efforts; higher visibility may lead to greater discussion, including expressions of public stigma. Future work is needed to better understand differential associations of public and internalized stigma with mental health symptoms.
Keywords: public stigma, self stigma; mental illness; rural; urban; suburban
Copyright
Copyright for this thesis is owned by the author. It may be freely accessed by all users. However, any reuse or reproduction not covered by the exceptions of the Fair Use or Educational Use clauses of U.S. Copyright Law or without permission of the copyright holder may be a violation of federal law. Contact the administrator if you have additional questions.
Recommended Citation
Speights, Kirsten P., "Stigma and Rurality: How Community Type Influences Stigmatizing Views Toward Mental Illness" (2022). Honors Theses. 856.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/856