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Effectiveness of programs for reducing the stigma associated with mental disorders. a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Open accessAbstract
The stigma associated with mental disorders is a global public health problem. Programs to combat it must be informed by the best available evidence. To this end, a meta-analysis was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of existing programs. A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases yielded 34 relevant papers, comprising 33 randomized controlled trials. Twenty-seven papers (26 trials) contained data that could be incorporated into a quantitative analysis. Of these trials, 19 targeted personal stigma or social distance (6,318 participants), six addressed perceived stigma (3,042 participants) and three self-stigma (238 participants). Interventions targeting personal stigma or social distance yielded small but significant reductions in stigma across all mental disorders combined (d=0.28, 95% CI: 0.17-0.39, p<0.001) as well as for depression (d=0.36, 95% CI: 0.10-0.60, p<0.01), psychosis (d=0.20, 95% CI: 0.06-0.34, p<0.01) and generic mental illness (d=0.30, 95% CI: 0.10-0.50, p<0.01). Educational interventions were effective in reducing personal stigma (d=0.33, 95% CI: 0.19-0.42, p<0.001) as were interventions incorporating consumer contact (d=0.47, 95% CI: 0.17-0.78, p<0.001), although there were insufficient studies to demonstrate an effect for consumer contact alone. Internet programs were at least as effective in reducing personal stigma as face-to-face delivery. There was no evidence that stigma interventions were effective in reducing perceived or self-stigma. In conclusion, there is an evidence base to inform the roll out of programs for improving personal stigma among members of the community. However, there is a need to investigate methods for improving the effectiveness of these programs and to develop interventions that are effective in reducing perceived and internalized stigma.
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“The pooled mean effect size across these studies was not statistically significant (d+ = 0.16; 95% CI [-0.41, 0.73], p = 0.57)”
From Self-help interventions to reduce self-stigma in people with mental health problems: A systematic literature review (2020) · cites this paper as Griffiths et al., 2014
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“They identified three studies targeting self- or internalised-stigma, all of which compared the effect of a group intervention with a control condition.”
From Self-help interventions to reduce self-stigma in people with mental health problems: A systematic literature review (2020) · cites this paper as Griffiths et al., 2014
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“Social contact had a consistently positive effect on reducing stigmatising attitudes, perceived stigma in help seeking, and social distance.186,195,198,[203][204][205][206][207][208]”
From The Lancet Commission on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health (2022) · cites this paper as [186]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Griffiths, K. M., Carron-Arthur, B., Parsons, A., & Reid, R.
- Affiliations
- Australian National University (AU)
- Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University; Acton Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
- Department of Defence (AU)
- Venue
- World Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2014-06
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 161-175
- ISSN
- 1723-8617 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4102289
- OpenAlex
- W2019025429
- Cited by
- 466
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 50 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 4.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- World Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- World Health Organization
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council (1059620)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Keywords
- mental health stigma, stigma reduction interventions, personal stigma, social distance, perceived stigma, self-stigma, educational intervention, online intervention, depression, psychosis, mental illness
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