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We investigated the relationships among internalized stigma and insight, depression, and self-esteem with a convenience sample of 174 alcohol-dependent Korean men being treated in the alcoholic ward of a psychiatric hospital. Data were collected using the Korean version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory II and the Hanil Alcohol Insight Scale. Results showed a significant variation in internalized stigma in relation to age, employment status, and frequency of admission to hospital for treatment for alcohol dependence. The correlation between internalized stigma and insight was not significant but the correlation between depression and self-esteem was statistically significant. The results provide information for the formulating of relevant interventions to address depressive symptoms, improve self-esteem, and devise a plan to enable people with alcohol-related problems or alcohol dependence to have good access to community resources.
Keywords: stigma, alcohol dependence, alcoholism, insight, depression, self-esteem.
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are some of the most prevalent mental disorders that cause serious adverse health consequences (Ahern, Stuber, & Galea, 2007; Luoma, O'Hair, Kohlenberg, Hayes, & Fletcher, 2010). These disorders constitute the cause of an estimated 5.1% of global disease and injury, with approximately 3.3 million deaths worldwide attributed to alcohol consumption each year (World Health Organization, 2014). Alcohol dependence can cause multi-organ failure and other physical problems. An even greater risk is the aggravated effect that AUD stigmatization has on mental health outcomes. Stigma is an attribute that is deeply discrediting, an undesired differentness and something that reduces the bearer from a whole and normal person to a tainted and discounted one (Goffman, 1963). The negativity of the stigma associated with alcoholism can deter individuals from seeking professional help due to fear of being labeled as alcoholic, fear of discrimination, loss of social status, and social exclusion (Cunningham, Sobell, Sobell, Agrawal, & Toneatto, 1993; Room, 2005). The stigma associated with this form of stereotyping, and the discrimination felt by alcoholics can be internalized. Affected individuals anticipate social rejection, consider the societal stereotypes self-relevant, and that they are devalued members of society (Corrigan et al., 2005; Ritsher & Phelan, 2004). AUD is a behavioral and psychiatric condition that is stigmatized in societies globally, with alcohol dependence often viewed harshly from a moral standpoint....