The Relationship Between Insight and Internalized Stigma in Persons With Sever Mental Illness

Abstract

Introduction

Stigma is a multistage process that makes person marked by the stigma to be perceived as diminished or even as “not fully human”. The internalized stigmatization is seen as one of the levels of stigma to be present in persons with mental illness. A new perspective to mediation models between internalized stigma and illness-related factors is needed.

Aim

To assess the relationship between insight in mental illness and internalized stigma, as well to verify the knowledge of illness-related factors on the phenomenon of internalized stigma among patients with severe mental illnesses.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design conducted among participants of both sexes between 18 years old and 65 years old with diagnosis of psychotic disorders (F20–29) and mood disorders (F30–39), who after reading the information about the study, give their written consent to participate. Among used methods were: a questionnaire of Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) by Ritsher [Boyed] et al. translated into Polish version and self-prepared interviews. Insight into mental illness was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Results

The preliminary results showed patients with the insight into the mental illness have significantly higher scores on the ISMI scale. Moreover, inpatient participants and those with the diagnosis of depression were characterized by higher level of stereotype endorsement compared with outpatients and psychotic patients.

Conclusions

The obtained results may contribute in the clinical and therapeutic fields, assuming that insight and the type of treatment are strongly linked with the process of recovery and the internalized stigma.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.