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Young people, mental illness and stigmatisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Susan Bailey*
Affiliation:
Adolescent Forensic Service, Mental Health Services of Salford, Burg New Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 3BL
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In a recent review of the literature, Hayward & Bright (1997) offer four possible answers to the question of “What is the root cause of an unfavourable view of ‘mental illness’?” First, dangerousness: people fear the mentally ill because they believe them to be prone to violence. Second, attribution of responsibility: sufferers of mental/behavioural problems are seen as more responsible for their condition, implying a belief that the mentally ill ‘choose’ to behave as they do. Third, conditions perceived as being chronic, difficult to treat and having a poor prognosis are more stigmatised, and fourth, the cause for stigma lies in the disruption of normal social interactions based on social role.

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Special articles
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

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