Date Available
6-10-2013
Year of Publication
2013
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Tamara L. Brown
Abstract
Although African Americans endorse more stigma towards those with mental illnesses than European Americans and are quite susceptible to stigma’s detrimental effects on help-seeking for mental health problems, stigma has not been adequately studied for African Americans. Given that stigma is a key barrier to obtaining help for mental health problems, it is imperative that we gain a more nuanced understanding of stigma. This study used experimental design and vignettes to examine the influence of acculturation and labeling on African Americans’ stigmatization of depression, social phobia, alcohol dependence, and schizophrenia. Results indicated that schizophrenia was generally the most stigmatized disorder and social phobia was least stigmatized. Having a label predicted increased desire for social distance from vignette subjects with depressive symptoms only. Additionally, acculturation predicted stigmatization of depression and social phobia.
Recommended Citation
Abdullah, Tahirah, "The Impact of Acculturation and Labeling on African Americans' Stigmatization of Mental Illness" (2013). Theses and Dissertations--Psychology. 23.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/23
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons
