Prevalence and Correlates of Self-Stigma in Personality Disorder Compared With Anxiety and Depression: A National Cross-Sectional Survey.

Abstract

Self-stigma occurs when a person with a mental illness internalises the negative stereotypes and attitudes associated with their condition, which can lead to reduced help-seeking and social withdrawal. Previous research has demonstrated high levels of professional stigma towards people with personality disorder, but in contrast to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, very little is known about self-stigma in people with personality disorder. We conducted an online, cross-sectional survey of 1009 people who had received a diagnosis of personality disorder, anxiety or depression to compare levels of self-stigma and identify associated factors. We assessed self-stigma using the Internalised Stigma of Mental Illness Scale-9 and demographic and clinical factors including level of personality disturbance, invalidating childhood experiences and depressive symptoms. In multilevel analysis, people diagnosed with personality disorder did not have higher levels of self-stigma than those with anxiety and depression. Levels of self-stigma were higher among those with higher levels of personality disturbance, depression and invalidating childhood experiences. These findings highlight the importance of personality disturbance in the development of self-stigma and the need for interventions to increase mental health literacy in this area.