Thesis
“Stigma is a weird amoeba of a word” : exploring mental health stigma as a multi-level concept through the experiences and conceptualisations of young people and staff members from stakeholder organisations in Scotland
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2022
- Thesis identifier
- T16358
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201775695
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- A 2019 report from the Youth Commission on Mental Health Services highlights that stigma of mental ill health still has an impact on young people, despite various the attempts of the Scottish Government and other third sector partners, to address this through anti-stigma campaigns. Existing research demonstrates that there is substantial prevalence of public stigma towards young people with mental ill health. However, there is limited understanding about how young people in Scotland conceptualise stigma and the ways in which they experience stigma of mental ill health at multiple social levels. This qualitative study collected data over the course of eight months in 2019. This involved four focus groups (five participants per focus group) and ten interviews with young people who had lived experiences of mental ill health. Fifteen staff members who worked in ten Scottish mental health organisations were also interviewed to gain perspectives from individuals who work within institutions and contribute to policy and practice. Thematic analysis identified four overarching themes about stigma: understandings, experiences, sources and effects. Discourse analysis principles were then applied to identify different ways young people and mental health were constructed, which found that young people were framed as “attention seekers” and mental health is prioritised less than physical health. This study found that participants described experiences of structural stigma within mental health services, by mental health service providers and through the lack of access to services. Stigma was understood by participants as embedded within dominant discourses which constructed young people and their mental health in stigmatising ways, which, they suggested, restricted access and limited the prioritisation and resourcing of CAMHS. However, participants also struggled to provide consistent definitions of “stigma”. Therefore, the key contribution of this research is developing understandings that suggest stigma is embedded within powerful and elite discourses that are not always accessible to many young people.
- Advisor / supervisor
- MacIntyre, Gillian
- Quinn, Neil
- MacIntyre, Anna
- Resource Type
- DOI
Relations
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PDF of thesis T16358 | 2022-10-17 | Public | Download |