Citation

Brown S. Community Ment. Health J. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Northern Iowa, Bartlett Hall 1078, Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0505, USA. seth.brown@uni.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-019-00503-8

PMID

31686302

Abstract

Two approaches that may be particularly well suited for mass media (large scale) stigma interventions are video-recorded social contact and simulations, but research is rather limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate two potential mass media interventions on different facets of stigma. Participants (N = 244) completed stigma measures prior to, immediately following, and 1 week following the random assignment of: (1) video-recorded social contact, (2) an audio/visual simulation, or (3) no intervention. The video-recorded social contact led to decreases on preference for social distance and negative emotions across 1 week, but only a temporary decrease on perceptions of dangerousness. In contrast, no significant changes in stigma were noted following the simulation. In sum, video-recorded social contact appears promising and offers many advantages for mass media implementation including low cost, minimal resources, and ease of dissemination. In contrast, further evaluation of audio/visual simulations is warranted before implementation.

Language: en

Keywords

Contact; Mental illness; Schizophrenia; Simulation; Stigma