The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #47608

Jason T Siegel, MA¹, Eusebio Alvaro, PhD¹, Michael Burgoon, PhD², and Hannah Roth, BS¹. (1) Health Communication Research Office, University of Arizona, 1522 E Drachman Street, Tucson, AZ 85721-0475, (520)626-3558, jtsiegel@u.arizona.edu, (2) Health Communication Research Office, Arizona Cancer Center, 1522 E Drachman Street, Tucson, AZ 85721-0475

While depression has recently received a great deal of attention in the national media, there is still a dearth of research focusing on the stigma of depression. While researchers have looked at the stigma of people with mental illness as a whole, little is known about the stigma facing those who are fighting depression. This research effort surveyed 203 non-depressed college students in an introductory communication class (N=203; 59% female; Average Age=20) to assess their perceptions of depressed individuals. Analyses revealed that 79.5% of students perceived depressed individuals to be weak rather than strong; 45.4% categorized depressed individuals as violent rather then gentle; 57.6% chose sane to describe depressed individuals rather than insane; lastly, 82.9% perceived depressed individuals to be unmotivated rather than motivated. Furthermore, 19% of the non-depressed college students surveyed wouldn’t consider dating someone who is depressed even if they weren’t currently fighting depression, 34.6% believe that people cause themselves to get depressed by worrying a lot; 26.8% perceive depressed people to be mentally weak; 41% believed that depressed people could get better if they really want to; and, 49.8% agreed that being depressed is something the depressed person cannot help. Lastly, the college students surveyed perceived that 31% of all Americans, 33.3% of all college students, and 26.4% of high school students have been diagnosed with depression. These results suggest that much work is needed if the negative stigma associated with depression is to be reduced or eventually eliminated through interventions.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will learn

• how a sample of college students perceive depressed individuals, and
• how awareness of such perceptions may inform development of intervention materials.

Keywords: Depression, Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.