Stigma towards mental illness in South Asian communities: A summary of three studies

Aishath Shahama; Chathurika Kannangara; Jerome Carson

doi:10.1921/swssr20252616

Authors

Aishath Shahama University of Greater Manchester https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7128-0597
Chathurika Kannangara University of Greater Manchester https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6955-8158
Jerome Carson University of Greater Manchester https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7596-116X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/swssr20252616

Keywords:

stigma towards mental illness, South Asia, community engagement, attribution questionnaire

Abstract

Social workers work with many disadvantaged and stigmatised groups. People with mental health problems have been stigmatised for centuries. In the last few decades attempts have been made to reduce levels of stigma in the general population, such as with the Time to Change program in the United Kingdom. Yet, there is so much about stigma we still do not understand, which has been referred to by Smith as stigma’s ‘dark matter.’ For instance, how do levels of stigma vary among different cultures? In this paper we consider what affects stigma in South Asian populations. After a short review of the literature in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India, we describe three studies we have conducted in this area. The first was a quantitative online survey, that used a previously published vignette to assess elements of stigma in 425 participants. The second comprised interviews with 15 people of South Asian heritage. The third was a community engagement event which brought together 99 mental health professionals and community activists for a hybrid educational event. The three studies are presented and discussed. Some tentative conclusions are offered

Author Biographies

Aishath Shahama, University of Greater Manchester

Aishath Shahama is a Doctor of Philosophy student at the University of Greater Manchester. She has been researching about mental health stigma among the South Asian population. The project is supervised by Professor Jerome Carson and Dr Chathurika Kannangara. Her interest lies in psychology research and education https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7128-0597

Chathurika Kannangara, University of Greater Manchester

Chathurika Kannangara is the University Director of Research Quality and an Associate Teaching Professor in Psychology at the School of Psychology at the University of Greater Manchester. She is a registered Counsellor with BACP. During her PhD she developed a Languishing vs Thriving conceptual model to work with students to improve their psychological wellbeing. Her primary interest in research, teaching and clinical practise is to apply Positive Psychology theory in promoting psychological wellbeing. Chathurika leads and co-leads on children’s wellbeing and mental health projects such as OSCAR and Hummingbird. She is also leading a project focused on Multimorbidity investigating Diabetes related mental health (AIDA-MH) challenges. AIDA-MH is funded by Health innovation Manchester. She is also a collaborator and Sri Lanka Project Lead on a Global Mental Health project; Moving ABC, funded by NIHR. Moving ABC is a large clinical trial delivering a Psychological Intervention for patients with breast cancer. Chathurika was the recipient of Heinz von Foerster Award 2013 and has also won other international awards for her contribution to research.

Jerome Carson, University of Greater Manchester

Jerome Carson is Professor of Psychology at the University of Greater Manchester. Jerome worked in the NHS as a qualified clinical psychologist for 27 years, working for most of that time within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. His main research interests are recovery from mental health problems, positive psychology, alcohol addiction and positive aging. He has been very active in autoethnography research since Robert Hurst and he discovered the pleasures of this method in 2020. Orcid: 0000-0002-7596-116X

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