“Several themes describe misconceptions about mental illness and corresponding stigmatizing attitudes. Media analyses of film and print have identified three: people with mental illness are homicidal maniacs who need to be feared; they have childlike perceptions of the world that should be marveled; or they are responsible for their illness because they have weak character (29-32)." World Psychiatry. 2002 Feb; 1(1): 16–20. PMCID: PMC1489832 Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness PATRICK W CORRIGAN and AMY C WATSON” FearPrejudiceBlameMental HealthDiscriminationMental IllnessBiasStigmaStereotypesChildlikeMental Health StigmaMental DisorderMedia ManipulationMedia BiasSensationalismMedia DistortionStigmatizationStereotyped PrejudicesDangerousnessPsychiatric CommunityStereotypedMental Patient Author:Patrick W. Corrigan
“Results of two independent factor analyses of the survey responses of more than 2000 English and American citizens parallel these findings (19,33): - fear and exclusion: persons with severe mental illness should be feared and, therefore, be kept out of most communities; - authoritarianism: persons with severe mental illness are irresponsible, so life decisions should be made by others; - benevolence: persons with severe mental illness are childlike and need to be cared for." World Psychiatry. 2002 Feb; 1(1): 16–20. PMCID: PMC1489832 Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness PATRICK W CORRIGAN and AMY C WATSON” FearPrejudiceBlameMental HealthDiscriminationMental IllnessRejectionBiasBenevolenceStigmaAuthoritarianismExclusionMental Health StigmaMental DisorderDangerousnessSevere Mental Illness Author:Patrick W. Corrigan