Structural Contexts of Psychosis: Migration, Stigma, and Recovery
- 3-4pm Interrogating and Addressing Stigma to Facilitate Recovery: An Overview of Research in the Mental Health Recovery Research Lab - Philip T. Yanos, PhD, Madi Barber BS, Victoria Shepard, BS, Amanda Siriram, MA
- 3:30-4pm Psychosis Among Immigrants in the United States: Epidemiological, Conceptual, and Social Considerations - Supriya Misra, ScD
Interrogating and Addressing Stigma to Facilitate Recovery: An Overview of Research in the Mental Health Recovery Research Lab - Philip T. Yanos, PhD, Madi Barber BS, Victoria Shepard, BS, Amanda Siriram, MA
Stigma is recognized as an umbrella term that includes a range of processes (including discrimination, structural stigma and the internalization of stigma) that follow from the attachment of negative stereotypes to human characteristics (Yanos, 2018). Stigma toward people diagnosed with psychosis has been identified as a major social barrier to their community participation and social recovery. This themed panel will include 5 presentations addressing a range of projects interrogating and addressing stigma conducted within the Mental Health Recovery Research Lab at John Jay College. Regarding predictors of stigma, Philip Yanos will review research and theory on the association between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and stigma, and will present findings from a meta-analysis of the relationship between RWA and both attitudes and intended social distance toward people diagnosed with mental health conditions. Madison Barber will present findings research on perceptions of stigmatizing content on social media. This experimental research aimed to understand if participants could identify a stigmatizing social media post, and if the source of the post influenced perceptions of the post itself. Regarding the experience of stigma among diagnosed individuals, Amanda Siriram will present a review of the literature of intersectional stigma experiences, individualism vs collectivism, and acculturation among first- and second-generation immigrant students experiencing mental health challenges. Regarding interventions to alleviate the impact of stigma among diagnosed individuals, Victoria Shepard will present on model adaptations and preliminary findings from a program evaluation project examining the delivery of group-based Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy (NECT) to Black and Latine young adults with mental health conditions in partnership with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health. Finally, regarding interventions to decrease stigma among community members, Sheharyar Hussain will present findings from a project on the development of script for an anti-stigma lived experience video geared toward the South Asian community, with quotes drawn from the narratives of 20 person who identify as being diagnosed with mental health conditions and South Asian.At the conclusion of the panel, Philip Yanos, will discuss overriding themes between the presentations and their implications for understanding of how social processes impact people diagnosed with psychosis.
Psychosis Among Immigrants in the United States: Epidemiological, Conceptual, and Social Considerations - Supriya Misra, ScD
European epidemiological research has substantially demonstrated inequities in the incidence, severity, and care of psychosis among immigrants, primarily due to greater experience of structural and social adversities preceding, during, and following migration. Yet the United States, which has the world’s largest immigrant population totaling about a fifth of all the world's immigrants, has limited research on this phenomenon. While the earliest known study on the relationship between immigration and schizophrenia is from the United States, dominant U.S. research priorities on psychosis have since shifted from social factors to biomedical causes. Given the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and repressive immigration policies and practices causing a backlash against immigrants, particularly their use of health and social services, it is vital to understand how to document and serve immigrants who experience psychosis. At the same time, centering lived experience, autonomy, and self-determination make visible that the Western medicalized concept of “psychosis” may not even have validity or utility for many immigrant groups in the United States, and that drawing attention to the data gaps might inadvertently risk coercive responses given the increased use of forced and involuntary psychiatric intervention across the country. This presentation will overview inequities in psychosis prevalence for immigrants globally, explain the role of social adversities to help explain these inequities, review what is known about psychosis for immigrants in the United States, and explain the context for immigrant mental health in the United States. Evidence includes a critical analytic review of the literature and qualitative findings from two research projects, one focused on South Asian immigrants in New York City and the other on immigrant peer specialists in the California Bay Area. The presentation will end with research and practice recommendations that broaden conceptions of these experiences and leverage person- and community-centered perspectives.
