Stigma Of Childhood

Abstract

Objective

To describe the state of the literature on stigma associated with children’s mental disorders and highlight gaps in empirical work.

Method

We reviewed child mental illness stigma articles in (English only) peer-reviewed journals available through Medline and PsychInfo. We augmented these with adult-oriented stigma articles that focus on theory and measurement. 145 articles in PsychInfo and 77 articles in MEDLINE met search criteria. The review process involved identifying and appraising literature convergence on the definition of critical dimensions of stigma, antecedents, and outcomes reported in empirical studies.

Results

We found concurrence on three dimensions of stigma (negative stereotypes, devaluation and discrimination), two contexts of stigma (self, general public), and two targets of stigma (self/individual, family). Theory and empirics on institutional and self stigma in child populations were sparse. Literature reports few theoretic frameworks and conceptualizations of child mental illness stigma. One model of help-seeking (the FINIS) explicitly acknowledges...