When Do Biological Attributions of Mental Illness Reduce Stigma? Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis to Contextualize Attributions

Individuals increasingly have encountered messages that mental illness is explained by biological factors such as chemical imbalance or genetic abnormality. Many assumed this “biological turn” would lessen stigma toward mental illness, but stigma generally has remained stable or even increased. Give...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Society and mental health 2018-11, Vol.8 (3), p.175-194
Main Authors: Andersson, Matthew A., Harkness, Sarah K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcoholism
Biology
Comparative analysis
Genetics
Mental disorders
Schizophrenia
Stigma
Stress
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Individuals increasingly have encountered messages that mental illness is explained by biological factors such as chemical imbalance or genetic abnormality. Many assumed this “biological turn” would lessen stigma toward mental illness, but stigma generally has remained stable or even increased. Given how nonbiological illness explanations (e.g., way one is raised, bad character, life stressors) often are endorsed even among those who support biological explanations, we contend that combinations or configurations of beliefs integrating distinct types of explanation may hold a key to understanding why biological beliefs have not succeeded in lessening stigma. Using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on national vignette data (2006 General Social Survey; N = 968), we find that not blaming an individual’s character is essential to lowering depression stigma whenever biological explanations also are endorsed and that blaming character unconditionally contributes to stigmatizing alcoholism. For schizophrenia and alcoholism, biological explanations may lower stigma contingent on several other beliefs.
ISSN:2156-8693
2156-8731
DOI:10.1177/2156869317733514