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DSM-V and the stigma of mental illness
- Authors:
- BEN-ZEEV Dror, YOUNG Michael A., CORRIGAN Patrick W.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 19(4), August 2010, pp.318-327.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
The relationship between diagnostic labels and stigma is examined in the context of the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Three types of negative outcome are considered in detail: public stigma, the phenomenon of large social groups endorsing stereotypes about, and subsequently acting against a stigmatised group; self stigma, the loss of self-esteem and self-efficacy that occurs when people internalise public stigma; and label avoidance, when sufferers do not seek out or participate in mental health services in order to avoid the impact of a stigmatised label. The authors illustrate how a clinical diagnosis may exacerbate these forms of stigma through socio-cognitive processes of groupness, homogeneity and stability. Initial draft revisions recently proposed by the DSM-V work groups are briefly discussed from the framework of mental illness stigma. The authors believe that the initial drafts of DSM-V show a trend of greater transparency and movement toward more dimensional approaches to diagnosis which may help reduce stigma in the future, but also include several proposals that may have a negative impact on stigma.