Depictions of mental illnesses in children's media

Abstract

Background: It has been suggested that media portrayals help to perpetuate the negative perceptions and attitudes of the public toward people living with mental illnesses. Children are significant consumers of mass media, and they may be learning about mental illnesses from their exposure to media depictions of those illnesses. Aims: This article is intended to explore how psychiatric disorders are portrayed in children's media. Methods: Studies of the depiction of mental illnesses in children's media are reviewed. Results: Studies of television, films, cartoons, and other media suggest that images and references to mental illnesses are relatively common in children's media and that such images are more often negative than positive ones. The image of persons with psychiatric disorders as unattractive, violent, and criminal, for example, appears common in children's media, and references to mental illnesses are typically used to disparage and ridicule. Conclusions: Although content analyses do not establish impact, it is likely that negative stereotypes are being fostered and that children are learning to respond to people with mental illnesses in avoidant and disparaging ways. Anti-stigma efforts that do not include children and do not address the media images of mental illnesses that foster unfavorable stereotypes may permit continued development of negative attitudes toward people with psychiatric disorders.