Abstract
Self-stigma of mental illness hinders work and reduces self-esteem. The aim of the study was to examine self-esteem, self-stigma, and stigmatisation among people with mental illness in Japan who had work experience. Survey respondents were 191 patients with mental illnesses in Japan. Self-esteem and self-stigma were measured, and associations between participants’ characteristics and these variables were explored. Most study participants were males (69.1%); 103 participants had schizophrenia (53.9%). Self-esteem differed significantly by type of support facility, age at onset, psychiatric hospitalisation, income, part-time work, treatment at work, consultation, reasons for unemployment and motivations for employment. Significant negative influences on self-stigma were not living alone, not disclosing the illness to colleagues, not citing mental illness as a reason for unemployment and not working for a living. It is necessary to improve working environments to ensure that people with mental illnesses can work by introducing anti-stigma countermeasures.
Highlights
Social reactions to mental illness add a dimension of suffering that has been described as a “second illness”
We examined self-stigma, self-esteem, and stigmatisation among people with mental illnesses in Japan who had work experience
Self-Esteem among People with Mental Illness Who Have Work Experience. The scores of those who attended psychiatric day care were significantly higher than others, and the scores of participants who attended centres for transition support for employment were significantly lower. This result contradicts our expectation that the self-esteem scores of those who attend psychiatric day care would be low because for them it is a place to feel at home, and that the scores of those who attend centres for transition support for employment would be high because they have employment support training to start working
Summary
Social reactions to mental illness add a dimension of suffering that has been described as a “second illness”. Self-esteem, in turn, has been shown to be related to household income, diagnosis, psychiatric symptoms, service satisfaction, perceived stigma and perceptions of social roles (Kahng & Mowbray, 2005). In this way, self-stigma and reduced self-esteem negatively affect the lives of people with mental illnesses. An assessment among participants in an employment support programme found that, compared with unemployed participants, those who worked without experiencing discrimination had lower levels of self-stigma and stigma stress (Rüsch et al, 2014) These findings indicate the importance of considering self-stigma and self-esteem in supporting the employment of people with mental illnesses. Our study will contribute to improvement of QOL among people with mental illness
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