Honor and the Stigma of Mental Healthcare
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Date
2014-09-01Author
Ryan P. Brown
Mikiko Imura
Lara Mayeux
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Abstract
Most prior research on cultures of honor has focused on interpersonal aggression. The present studies examined the novel hypothesis that honor-culture ideology enhances the stigmatization of mental health needs and inhibits the use of mental health services. Study 1 demonstrated that people who strongly endorsed honor-related beliefs and values were especially concerned that seeking help for mental health needs would indicate personal weakness and would harm their reputations. Studies 2 and 3 showed that honor states in the U.S. South and West invested less in mental healthcare resources, compared with non-honor states in the North (Study 2), and that parents living in honor states were less likely than parents in non-honor states to use mental health services on behalf of their children (Study 3). Together, these studies reveal an overlooked consequence of honor ideology for psychological well-being at the individual, social, and institutional levels.
Citation
Brown, R. P., Imura, M., & Mayeux, L. (2014). Honor and the Stigma of Mental Healthcare. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(9), 1119-1131. doi: 10.1177/0146167214536741