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Abstract
In contrast with growing attention given to the stigma experiences of mental health service users, the stigma literature has paid almost no attention to mental health professionals. This study focuses on experiences of associative stigma among these professionals. We investigate the link between associative stigma and three dimensions of burnout as well as job satisfaction among mental health professionals, and the link of associative stigma with self-stigma and client satisfaction among service users. Survey data from 543 professionals and 707 service users from diverse mental health services are analyzed using multilevel techniques. The results reveal that among mental health professionals associative stigma is related to more depersonalization, more emotional exhaustion, and less job satisfaction. In addition, in units in which professionals report more associative stigma, service users experience more self-stigma and less client satisfaction. The results reveal that associative stigma is related to more depersonalization, more emotional exhaustion, and less job satisfaction among mental health professionals.
Keywords
associative stigma, burnout, job satisfaction, mental health services, multilevel research, self-stigma, service user satisfaction
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
One-quarter to one-third of the general population experiences a mental health problem at least once (World Health Organization International Consortium in Psychiatric Epidemiology 2000), yet mental illness remains one of the most stigmatized human conditions. Empirical studies based on theoretical frameworks such as the labeling perspective (Scheff 1966), modified labeling perspective (Link 1987; Link et al. 1989), and theory of self-stigma (Corrigan and Watson 2002) have revealed detrimental consequences for job opportunities (Link 1982; Glozier 1998), housing opportunities (Page 1977), life satisfaction (Markowitz 1998), self-esteem, self-efficacy (Link et al. 2001; Wright, Gronfein, and Owens 2000), and obtaining professional care (Vogel, Wade, and Hackler 2007). The literature on the stigma of mental illness typically focuses on the general public (Angermeyer et al. 2005; Phelan et al. 2000) or mental health service users (Link et al. 1997; Rosenfield 1997) and has paid almost no attention to mental health professionals. To address this deficit, this study focuses on experiences of associative stigma among these professionals. We define associative stigma as stigma that mental health professionals experience because they are associated with persons who belong to a stigmatized category in society, namely, people with mental health problems. We investigate the association...