Resisting the Stigma of Mental Illness

Abstract

The relationship between stigmatization and the self-regard of patients/consumers with mental disorder is negative but only moderate in strength, probably because a subset of persons with mental illness resists devaluation and discrimination by others. Resistance has seldom been discussed in the stigma and labeling literatures, and thus conditions under which individuals are resistant have not been identified. I define resistance as opposition to the imposition of mental illness stereotypes by others and distinguish between deflecting (“that’s not me”) and challenging resistance strategies. Individuals should be more likely to employ resistance strategies when they have: past experience with stigma resistance; past familiarity with an ill family member or friend; symptoms that are non-severe or controlled; treatment experience in settings run by consumers; initially high levels of psychosocial coping resources; and multiple role-identities. Incorporating resistance into classic and modified labeling theories of mental illness highlights the personal agency of labeled individuals, missing especially in classic labeling theory.