BACKGROUND: Stigma is a barrier to treatment and harm reduction seeking in people who use drugs. Most stigma reduction interventions offer psychotherapy or psychoeducation in group-based clinical settings, failing to reach people who are not in treatment. SMS text messaging is an effective and acceptable modality for delivering health information to people who use drugs and may be a suitable conduit for providing information and advice to understand and cope with stigma.
OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the protocol for a study that aims to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a 4-week automated SMS text message intervention to increase stigma resistance and reduce self-stigma in people who use drugs.
METHODS: We designed a novel automated SMS text message intervention to address the four personal-level constructs of stigma resistance: (1) not believing stigma and catching and challenging stigmatizing thoughts, (2) empowering oneself through learning about substance use and one\'s recovery, (3) maintaining one\'s recovery and proving stigma wrong, and (4) developing a meaningful identity and purpose apart from one\'s substance use. Theory-based messages were developed and pilot-tested in qualitative elicitation interviews with 22 people who use drugs, resulting in a library of 56 messages. In a single-group, within-subjects, community-based pilot trial, we will enroll 30 participants in the Resisting Stigma and Revaluating Your Thoughts (RESTART) intervention. Participants will receive 2 daily SMS text messages for 4 weeks. Implementation feasibility will be assessed through recruitment, enrollment, retention, and message delivery statistics. User feasibility and acceptability will be assessed at follow-up using 23 survey items informed by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. Primary effectiveness outcomes are changes in self-stigma (Substance Abuse Self-Stigma Scale) and stigma resistance (Stigma Resistance Scale) from baseline to follow-up measured via a self-administered survey. Secondary outcomes are changes in hope (Adult Dispositional Hope Scale) and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed with descriptive statistics; effectiveness outcomes will be assessed with paired 2-tailed t tests, and group differences will be explored using ANOVA. Overall, 12 participants will also be selected to complete acceptability interviews.
RESULTS: This pilot study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in April 2023 and received regulatory approval in January 2024 by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Institutional Review Board. Recruitment and enrollment began in March 2024. Follow-up visits are expected to conclude by May 2024. Results will be disseminated in relevant peer-reviewed journals.
CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to address substance use stigma via a self-help SMS text messaging program. Results will add to the nascent literature on stigma reduction in people who use drugs. This protocol may interest researchers who are considering text messaging to address psychosocial needs in hard-to-reach populations.
BACKGROUND: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06281548; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT06281548.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/59224.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to create a stigma reduction framework for stuttering in the local context of Québec, Canada using the Participative Concept Mapping Approach (PCMA), focusing on both self and societal stigma.
METHODS: Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study engaged 17 experts-people who stutter, clinicians and health innovation specialists-in PCMA workshops. Via diverse steps, including generation, sorting and rating of ideas in response to the focus prompt, \"To effectively address stuttering (self-)stigma, an intervention should…\" these sessions led to a framework depicted in visual maps, then refined into actionable principles through qualitative analysis. Mixed-methods data analysis used the open-source R-CMap software to generate visual maps illustrating the relationships among ideas as well as importance and feasibility ratings.
RESULTS: The collaborative workshops identified 95 ideas in response to the focus prompt, reunited in 7 clusters, evolving into 16 principles to mitigate stuttering stigma and self-stigma. At the therapy level, these principles emphasize personalized therapy, thorough assessments, stigma-free therapeutic environment, empowerment, and the importance of group inclusivity and educating the relational circles. Societally, they advocate for initiatives such as improved educational outreach, empathy enhancement, and better representation. This dual approach targets individual experiences and societal views on stuttering, stressing the need for an all-encompassing intervention framework.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate PCMA\'s usefulness in crafting local, culturally sensitive, tailored interventions for stigma reduction. The study emphasizes the necessity of holistic approaches that address individual experiences and societal perceptions, offering a model to conduct similar exercises in diverse local settings.

BACKGROUND: Mental health literacy (MHL) is crucial for early recognition of and coping with mental health problems, and for the use and acceptance of mental health services, leading to better health outcomes, especially in adolescence. The prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents is seen as a major public health concern and MHL is an important factor in facilitating positive mental health outcomes. However, the availability of valid measurement instruments for assessing the multifaceted nature of MHL is limited, hindering the ability to make meaningful comparisons across studies. The Knowledge and Attitudes to Mental Health Scales (KAMHS) is a promising comprehensive instrument for measuring adolescents\' mental health literacy but its psychometric properties have not been explored in any other contexts than the Welsh. The aim of this study was to translate the KAMHS into Dutch, adapt it in this context, and evaluate its psychometric properties.
METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study with Dutch adolescents between the ages 11-16. We translated the KAHMS and assessed its content validity using cognitive interviewing with n = 16 adolescents. Next, n = 406 adolescents were asked to fill in the translated KAMHS-NL and reference scales, on mental health (SDQ and WHO-5), resilience (BRS), and mental health help-seeking behaviors. We assessed construct validity based on a priori hypotheses regarding convergent and divergent correlations between subscales of KAMHS-NL and the reference scales. Finally, we assessed structural validity via confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling.
RESULTS: The KAMHS-NL showed good content validity and satisfactory construct validity. In total, 28 of the 48 hypotheses regarding convergent and divergent correlations between the KAMHS and reference scales were confirmed. Contrary to our expectations, weak, but significant associations were found between MHL and resilience. The KAMHS showed an acceptable to good internal consistency (McDonald\'s omega ranging from 0.62 to 0.84). Finally, we could generally confirm the postulated structure of the KAMHS-NL in the Dutch sample with a 5-factor solution (RMSEA = 0.033; CFI = 0.96).
CONCLUSIONS: The Dutch version of the KAMHS is a valid measure for detecting differences in MHL levels in adolescents. The KAMHS is a promising instrument for assessing MHL in adolescents in a multifaceted manner in other countries which may facilitate rigorous global MHL research. The instrument therefore deserves further validation research in other settings and comparisons across various cultural contexts.

OBJECTIVE: Given the relevance of internalised stigma in people suffering from a mental disorder, in the present study, the possible mediating and moderating role of self-stigma in the relationship between personal recovery and symptomatology has been studied.
METHODS: 265 participants with severe mental disorder completed the following instruments: ISMI (self-stigma), REE (personal recovery) and HoNOS, CGI, GAF and EuroQol (symptomatology).
RESULTS: both the mediation and moderation analyses show significant results, which would indicate that internalised stigma has an effect on the relationship between personal recovery and symptomatology. Also, people with lower level of personal recovery and greater self-stigma have greater symptomatology than those who are in more advanced personal recovery processes and have a lower perception of internalised stigma.
CONCLUSIONS: the findings of this study suggest that self-stigma has an effect, and the improvement at personal recovery and symptomatology is accentuated when people with a severe mental disorder have a better management of internalised stigma. Therefore, it may be interesting to include this variable in recovery interventions.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in our community. Yet, there is a significant discrepancy between the number of individuals engaging in NSSI and those who seek treatment for NSSI. This discrepancy can be due to the high social stigma associated with the behavior. The impact of NSSI stigma is significant and can impair the quality of life in the individuals engaging in NSSI, delay help-seeking, reduce access to mental health care and further fuel misinformation. Even though the symptomatology, risks, and demographics of NSSI have received attention in terms of research, there is limited literature on NSSI stigma and its consequences. With that background set, this review provides a bird\'s-eye view of the different levels of stigma in NSSI (public, self, and health care), associated discrimination, the various aspects of such stigmatization (NSSI-related language, physical scarring, misinformation, the media), and, finally, the collaborative clinical-outreach interventions for mitigating NSSI-associated social stigma. If NSSI is indeed recognized as a clinical disorder, future research would need to focus on these constructs of stigma and treat them with the same importance as the one given to clinical studies of intervention and symptomatology in NSSI.
Несуицидальное самоповреждающее поведение (НССП) широко распространено в нашем обществе. Тем не менее, существует значительное несоответствие в количестве людей с НССП, и тех, кто обращается за медицинской помощью в связи с этим состоянием. Такое несоответствие может быть связано с выраженной социальной стигматизацией, связанной с данным состоянием. Стигматизация НССП оказывает значительное влияние и может ухудшить качество жизни таких пациентов, отсрочить обращение за помощью, снизить доступ к психиатрической помощи и еще больше способствовать накоплению неверной информации. Несмотря на то, что симптоматике, рискам и демографическим характеристикам НССП уделялось внимание в исследованиях, литературные данные о стигматизации данного состояния и ее последствиях ограничены. Исходя из этого, данный обзор дает представление о различных уровнях стигматизации НССП (общественный, самостигматизация и медицинская помощь), связанной с данным состоянием дискриминацией, различных аспектах такой стигматизации (язык, связанный с НССП, физические повреждения, ошибочная информация, СМИ) и, наконец, о совместных клинико-информационных мероприятиях для смягчения социальной стигматизацией НССП. Если НССП действительно будет признано клиническим расстройством, будущие исследования должны быть сосредоточены на этой концепции стигматизации и лечения с тем же значением, которое придается клиническим исследованиям вмешательств и симптоматики при НССП.

BACKGROUND: Self-stigma remains one of the most vexing issues in psychiatry. It complicates the treatment and social functioning of patients with endogenous psychiatric disorders. Identifying the specific features of self-stigma depending on the type and duration of the endogenous mental illness can help solve this problem.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to establish the level and specific features of self-stigma in patients with various types of chronic endogenous psychiatric disorders at different disease stages and to establish the correlation between the level of self-stigma and the attitude of the patient to his/her disease and treatment.
METHODS: Clinical psychopathology assessment, psychometric scales and questionnaires: \"Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale\" (PANSS), \"Questionnaire for Self-Stigma Assessment in Mentally Ill Patients\", and Russian versions of the \"Insight Scale for Psychosis\" (ISP), and \"Drug Attitude Inventory\" (DAI-10). The cross-sectional study included 86 patients with endogenous mental illnesses (bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
RESULTS: The analysis of the results of the \"Questionnaire for Self-Stigma Assessment in Mentally Ill Patients\" showed that at the initial disease stages the highest level of self-stigma is observed in patients with bipolar affective disorder (M±σ=1.22±0.73; Me [Q1; Q3]=1.10 [0.83; 1.60]), while the lowest level was observed in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (M±σ=0.86±0.53; Me [Q1; Q3]=0.77 [0.31; 1.25]). Patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and a disease duration more than five years participating in a long-term comprehensive psychosocial rehabilitation program also demonstrated high rates of self-stigma (M±σ=1.20±0.57, Me [Q1; Q3]=1.26 [0.89; 1.47]). The study groups showed differences in terms of the structure of components of self-stigma and their severity; significant correlations were uncovered between the self-stigma parameters and the attitude of patients to their disease and therapy.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the specific features of self-stigma in patients with various endogenous disorders at different stages of the disease. These data can be used as part of a comprehensive psychosocial treatment program for this patient cohort, as well as for future research.
UNASSIGNED: Самостигматизация остается одной из актуальных проблем современной психиатрии, которая затрудняет лечение и социальное функционирование пациентов с эндогенными психическими расстройствами. Решению этой проблемы может способствовать определение особенностей и специфики самостигматизации в зависимости от формы и длительности эндогенного психического расстройства.
UNASSIGNED: Установить уровень и особенности самостигматизации у пациентов с различными формами эндогенных хронических психических расстройств на разных этапах болезни и выявить связь выраженности самостигматизации с отношением к своему заболеванию и лечению.
UNASSIGNED: Клинико - психопатологический, психометрические шкалы и опросники (« Опросник для оценки феномена самостигматизации психически больных », « Шкала позитивных и негативных симптомов — «Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale» (PANSS), русскоязычные версии опросников « Осознание болезни » — «Insight Scale for Psychosis» (ISP), « Отношение к лекарственным препаратам » — «Drug attitude inventory» (DAI-10). Проведено кроссекционное исследование 86 пациентов с эндогенными психическими заболеваниями (биполярное аффективное расстройство и расстройства шизофренического спектра).
UNASSIGNED: С помощью « Опросника для оценки феномена самостигматизации психически больных » установлено, что на начальном этапе заболевания наибольший уровень самостигматизации характерен для пациентов с биполярным аффективным расстройством (M±σ=1,22±0,73; Me [Q1; Q3]=1,10 [0,83; 1,60]), наиболее низкий выявлен у пациентов с расстройствами шизофренического спектра (M±σ=0,86±0,53; Me [Q1; Q3]= 0,77 [0,31; 1,25]). Пациенты с шизофренией и шизоаффективным расстройством и длительностью заболевания более 5 лет, участвующие в долгосрочной комплексной программе психосоциальной реабилитации, также продемонстрировали высокие показатели самостигматизации (M±σ=1,20±0,57, Me [Q1; Q3]= 1,26 [0,89; 1,47]). В изученных группах обнаружены различия в структуре компонентов самостигматизации пациентов и их выраженности и получены достоверные корреляционные связи между показателями самостигматизации, отношением пациентов к имеющемуся психическому расстройству и получаемому лечению.
UNASSIGNED: Результаты проведенного исследования уточняют и расширяют имеющиеся знания об особенностях самостигматизации у пациентов с различными эндогенными расстройствами на разных этапах заболевания. Полученные данные могут послужить основой для дальнейших исследований, а также для использования в комплексном психосоциальном лечении таких пациентов.

Background: Childhood maltreatment is a risk factor for developing multiple forms of psychopathology, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety. Yet, the mechanisms linking childhood maltreatment and these psychopathologies remain less clear.Objective: Here we examined whether self-stigma, the internalization of negative stereotypes about one\'s experiences, mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and symptom severity of depression, PTSD, and anxiety.Methods: Childhood trauma survivors (N = 685, Mage = 36.8) were assessed for childhood maltreatment, self-stigma, and symptoms of depression, PTSD, and anxiety. We used mediation analyses with childhood maltreatment as the independent variable. We then repeated these mediation models separately for childhood abuse and neglect, as well as the different subtypes of childhood maltreatment.Results: Self-stigma significantly mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depression, PTSD, and anxiety symptoms. For sexual abuse - but not physical or emotional abuse - a significant mediation effect of self-stigma emerged on all symptom types. For childhood neglect, self-stigma significantly mediated the relationship between both emotional and physical neglect and all symptom types.Conclusion: Our cross-sectional study suggests that different types of childhood maltreatment experiences may relate to distinct mental health problems, potentially linked to increased self-stigma. Self-stigma may serve as an important treatment target for survivors of childhood abuse and neglect.
Childhood maltreatment is linked to depression, PTSD, and anxiety symptoms.Self-stigma, or internalizing negative stereotypes, plays a significant role in mediating this relationship.Different types of maltreatment are linked to varying levels of self-stigma and symptom severity.

BACKGROUND: As societal evolution unfolds in China, individuals with physical disabilities are increasingly provided opportunities in higher education, particularly in the field of medicine. However, these medical students often encounter bias in their work environments, including during internships, which fosters self-stigma and impedes their experience for workplace well-being (WWB). Such a decrease in WWB detrimentally affects not only their mental health in the workplace but also hinders their sense of personal worth and assimilation into broader society. This study aims to examine the challenges faced by medical students with physical disabilities in China as they aspire to achieve WWB, and to explore potential intervention strategies.
METHODS: Leveraging cognitive consistency theory (CCT), we introduces a conceptual framework to examine the relationships among self-stigma, perceived discrimination, and WWB. It also investigates the role of trait mindfulness as a potential mitigating factor in this dynamic. We employed the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMIS), Discrimination Perception Questionnaire (DPQ), Workplace Well-being Subscale (WWBS), and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) to survey 316 medical students with physical disabilities. Statistical analyses, including correlation, regression, and moderated mediation effect assessments, were conducted using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 24.0.
RESULTS: A notable negative correlation exists between self-stigma and WWB (r = -0.56, p < 0.01). Perceived discrimination partially mediates the relationship between self-stigma and WWB. The direct effect of self-stigma and its mediating effect through perceived discrimination account for 60.71% and 21.43% of the total effect, respectively. Trait mindfulness moderates the latter part of this mediating pathway. Moderation models indicate that trait mindfulness has a significant negative moderating effect on the impact of perceived discrimination on WWB (β = -0.10, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Self-stigma adversely affects the positive work experiences of medical students with physical disabilities by eliciting a heightened sensitivity to discriminatory cues, thereby undermining their WWB. Trait mindfulness can effectively counter the detrimental effects of perceived discrimination on WWB. Consequently, this study advocates for the systematic incorporation of mindfulness training into educational services and workplace enhancement programs for medical students with disabilities, aiming to foster an inclusive and supportive external environment.

BACKGROUND: Mental illness stigma is often common among mentally ill patients. This stigma can come from others or the patients themselves, which is called \'self-stigma\'. The present study explored the widespread impacts of self-stigma on adult patients with depression. Additionally, this review compared the severity of self-stigma levels among psychiatric disorders and to review and update thoughts about self-stigma of depression.
METHODS: An etiology and risk systematic review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) approach as a guideline. The search process was performed via research databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL. The inclusion criteria are studies include participants diagnosed with depressive disorders, both genders, participants\' exposure to mental illness self-stigma, participants\' experience of self-stigma consequences and any geographical site or clinical settings are included, the type of the included studies must be observational studies. The included studies were limited to the English language studies that were published from 2016 and onwards. Patients with depression under the age of eighteen and patients diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses were excluded. The JBI critical appraisal checklist were adopted to assess the risk of bias.
RESULTS: In December 2022, a comprehensive search yielded eight cross-sectional studies that were included in this systematic review, involving a total of 783 patients diagnosed with depression, and 28 studies were excluded for not fulfilling the inclusion criteria of the review. The findings were extracted and synthesized through textual narrative synthesis into three main categories negatively affected by self-stigma of depression. These are: (1) the impact on the quality of life, (2) the impact on self-esteem and (3) the impact on self-worth. Moreover, in regard to the comparison of self-stigma levels among psychiatric disorders, self-stigma for people with schizophrenia was higher than self-stigma of depression.
CONCLUSIONS: Self-stigma of depression has negatively impacted multiple aspects of the patient\'s life. Thus, the review brings the following recommendations: increase community awareness, educate the healthcare providers, include the topic of mental illness stigma in academic curriculums. The main limitation of the review is the limited number of included studies.
BACKGROUND: The research proposal for this review has been registered to Prospero (ID number: CRD42022366555).

UNASSIGNED: To investigate self-stigma\'s influence on schizophrenia patients\' quality of life and its mediated impact by various factors.
UNASSIGNED: This study adopted a cross-sectional design and randomly selected 170 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia for evaluation. The assessment tools included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI), Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS), and Coping Questionnaire for Schizophrenia Patients (CQSP), among others. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation analysis were used to test the correlation and mediation effects.
UNASSIGNED: Self-stigma had a significant impact on quality of life (T = 8.13, p = 0.00). When self-stigma is used as a mediator, the problem-solving factor in coping strategies has an indirect effect on quality of life, which is significant (AB = -0.16, P = 0.02), while the avoidance factor in coping strategies has a direct effect on quality of life, which is significant (C\' = 0.54, p < 0.001), and an indirect effect, which is also significant (AB = 0.25, p < 0.001).
UNASSIGNED: The study highlights the significant impact of self-stigma on the quality of life of schizophrenia patients, emphasizing the crucial roles of self-esteem and coping strategies. These findings suggest clinical interventions to improve quality of life should focus on reducing self-stigma, especially enhancing self-esteem and promoting adaptive coping strategies. By addressing these factors, we can better support the mental health and well-being of those with schizophrenia, offering an effective approach to rehabilitation.