One In Three Family Members Of Those With Serious Mental Illness Feel Stigmatized

According to a recent survey, 34.7% of family members who have a relative with serious mental illness (SMI) feel stigmatized by association. Participants who live with a relative with SMI were much more likely to report significantly higher levels of stigma by association. This kind of stigma is defined as feeling disgrace or public disapproval regarding being linked to their relative’s mental health condition. For the survey, SMI includes the following conditions: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, “other psychotic disorder,” and “other mental disorder.”

Family members who reported experiencing stigma by association were also found to be experiencing moderate levels of loneliness. Furthermore, participants who live with a relative with SMI had a consistent pattern of seeing less support from friends, family, and significant others compared to those who do not live with their relative. Those who live with their relative with SMI also experienced a lower sense that their lives truly matter, compared to those who do not live with their relative.

These findings were presented in “Too Close for Comfort: Stigma by Association in Family Members Who Live with Relatives with Mental Illness,” by Joel O. Goldberg, Suzanne A. McKeag, Alison L. Rose, Heather Lumsden-Ruegg, and Gordon L. Flett. The researchers conducted a survey of participants recruited through organizations that support family members who have relatives with SMI. In surveys, family members described chronic feelings of blame, failure, and loneliness. The goal was to compare family members who are either living with or not cohabiting with their relative with SMI to determine their relative levels of experienced stigma by association, loneliness, social support, and feelings of not mattering. The study also examined the correlates of feelings of not mattering for these individuals as a whole.

The full text of “Too Close for Comfort: Stigma by Association in Family Members Who Live with Relatives with Mental Illness” was published February 13, 2023, by MDPI. A copy is available online at https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/6/5209.

For more information, contact:

• Joel O. Goldberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Behavioural Sciences Building, Room 133a, Toronto, Ontario Canada; M3J 1P3; Email: jgoldber@yorku.ca; Website: https://jgoldberg.info.yorku.ca/