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Public may becoming desensitized to less severe mental disorders

Many patients diagnosed with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and major depression have a support system in place, but patients with less severe disorders are less likely to arouse sympathy from friends and family, according to recent study results.

Brea Perry, PhD, of the University of Kentucky, studied the results of interviews conducted with 165 first-time patients diagnosed with varying degrees of mental illnesses. Her analysis focused on the measure of patients’ personal community networks, including friends and family whom the patients named as most likely to provide support when needed, and a peripheral network of individuals with whom the patient is not close.

Results show that patients early in their diagnosis can rely on five or six core supporters of family and friends. On average, 3.3 members of the core network know about, and are usually supportive of, the patients’ situation. However, on average, those with more severe diagnoses reported larger core networks (IRR=1.78, P=.001), and more core network members are aware of their diagnoses (IRR=1.98, P=.001). Patients with bipolar disorder (IRR=2.18, P=.001) and major depression (IRR=1.28, P=.05) reported more core network members who reacted supportively than patients with less severe diagnoses.

Results also showed that patients with more severe mental illnesses are vulnerable to discrimination by those outside of their core network of supporters. This creates a paradox, according to Perry, since a patient diagnosed with a serious mental disorder can net support from those with whom he feels closest while experiencing rejection from acquaintances and strangers.

Perry said broad definitions of mental illness may have diluted the public’s perception of those illnesses, and as a result, people may not necessarily feel that patents with less severe mental disorders should assume the “sick role.”

“[R]esponses to signs that a friend or family member has a mental illness may reflect the extent to which certain psychiatric disorders are recognized as legitimate medical conditions in contemporary American society,” Perry said. “Such cultural belief systems can shape individuals’ illness career trajectories, as well as the institutional and interpersonal treatment of people with mental illness.”

Disclosure: The researcher reported no relevant financial disclosures.