Interdependence and reflected failure: Cultural differences in stigma by association

Cross-cultural differences in depression between White British and South Asians: Causal attributions, stigma by association, discriminatory potential

OBJECTIVES

Numerous facets of public and internalized mental illness stigma have been established. This study focuses on the stigma of being associated with someone with depression and cultural differences between a Western and an Eastern culture. The aim was to compare White British and South Asians living in the United Kingdom regarding their causal explanations for depression, stigma towards people with depression and stigma by association.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design.

METHODS

White British and South Asians (N = 137) in the United Kingdom completed a survey measuring attributions about the aetiology of depression, discriminatory potential towards people with depression and stigma by association.

RESULTS

Results revealed that South Asians attributed greater supernatural, moral and psychosocial causes to depression, while White British endorsed greater biological beliefs. South Asians reported a greater discriminatory potential towards people with depression (lower willingness for closeness, greater desire for social distance) than White British. They also indicated greater affective, cognitive and behavioural stigma by association. Stigma by association mediated the relationship between cultural group and willingness for closeness as well as desire for social distance. Perceived dangerousness was a mediator for willingness for closeness.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that a greater consideration of the role of culture in the understanding of mental health is important to combat stigma towards individuals with depression and those close to them across Western and Eastern cultures.

The perceived costs and benefits of mentoring college students with intellectual disability on stereotype consistent and inconsistent tasks

BACKGROUND

According to the stereotype content model, individuals with intellectual disability are perceived as having greater warmth-related traits (e.g. sociable and humorous) and fewer competence-related traits (e.g. independence and intelligence).

METHODS

We examined college students' perceived costs and benefits of mentoring peers with intellectual disability on stereotype-consistent (i.e. socially oriented) or inconsistent (i.e. academically oriented) tasks. Participants read about peer mentoring programmes that helped college students with or without intellectual disability on socially or academically oriented tasks before reporting their perceived costs and benefits of peer mentoring.

RESULTS

Mentoring students with intellectual disability was associated with greater benefits (i.e. connectedness between mentors and students, student utility and mentor benefits) on academically oriented tasks but greater costs for mentors on socially oriented tasks. Additionally, participants reported that they would experience greater positive feelings if they were to mentor a student with an intellectual disability. However, the perceived benefits to the student and some costs (i.e. discomfort, paternalism and costs to student) were not influenced by whether the student had an intellectual disability and the type of mentoring task.

DISCUSSION

Results indicate individuals find greater rewards working with individuals with intellectual disability on stereotype-inconsistent tasks and offer suggestions for postsecondary education peer mentoring programmes.