Young People Negotiating the Stigma Around their Depression

This study explored how young people negotiated the stigma associated with depression. The study methodology involved collecting written narratives, as well as conducting asynchronous online group discussions and online individual interviews with young Finnish people who self-identified as being dep...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Young (Stockholm, Sweden) Sweden), 2014-05, Vol.22 (2), p.171-184
Main Author: Issakainen, Mervi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Depression
Depression (Psychology)
Empathy
Finland
Focus groups
Information Dissemination
Internet
Mental Illness
Perception
Psychological Distress
Stigma
Symbolic Interactionism
Youth
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study explored how young people negotiated the stigma associated with depression. The study methodology involved collecting written narratives, as well as conducting asynchronous online group discussions and online individual interviews with young Finnish people who self-identified as being depressed. Theoretical insights of the study were drawn from dialogicality and symbolic interactionism. Examining patterns in the participants’ experiences and perceptions revealed their reliance on two stigmatizing cultural conceptions—’depression as a mental illness’ and ‘depression as a matter of pulling oneself together’—to account for why they were perceived as abnormal, and for the absence of empathy for their distress. To cope with these stigmatizing conceptions, they resorted to reframing their experience of ‘depression as a normal but serious affliction’. The study’s results highlight the importance of information dissemination (in schools, through media, etc.) regarding harmful as well as helpful ways to give meaning and respond to depressive experiences.
ISSN:1103-3088
1741-3222
DOI:10.1177/1103308814521624