Who is Stigmatized? Exploring Cross-National Variation in Stigma in Europe

Research on stigma and mental illness has revealed that, despite growing understanding and treatment of mental health problems, those experiencing mental health problems are generally not viewed as favorable as those who are labeled “ mentally healthy.” While stigma and discrimination has become more subtle in Western, industrialized nations, research continues to show that the public holds stigmatizing attitudes toward those experiencing mental illness (Martin, Pescosolido, and Tuck 2000; Martin et al. 2007). While research in the U.S. and other societies has given some insights into the general cultural climate regarding mental health problem within that society, no data has been available that directly compares stigmatizing attitudes across advanced, industrialized nations. Using data from the Stigma in Global Context Study, I explore cross-national variation in stigma associated with individuals with mental health problems. Data is available for eight European countries belonging, specifically the Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, and Spain. I first explore whether there is variation in overall level of stigma in those nations. The second question addresses what is seen as rights and responsibilities within societies, by exploring not only whether there is country variation in overall stigma, but whether the differences may be found within specific domains. Third, I explore whether processes of stigma, in terms of who is stigmatized, varies across countries. The findings have implications for our understanding of stigma, specifically whether stigma of mental illness follows universal patterns in Europe, or whether stigma is bound within national realities.