Sociology of Mental Disorder: Mental Health & the Media

Vocabulary and key research findings regarding the portrayal and sociology of mental health in film, news, children's media, and social media platforms.

Western culture's history of visualizing mental illness

Reflects a desire to control mental illness and protect the boundaries of presumed normality.

Key analysis of news language

The language used to describe people experiencing mental disorder is predominantly negative, and multiple causes of disorders are rarely reported.

Wahl, Wood, and Richards ($2002$)

A study of print media that found frequent references to dangerousness and unpredictability, using terms like insane, to go bananas, and mad.

Whitley & Berry ($2013$)

Research finding that $40\%$ of articles featured danger, violence, and criminality, while only $19\%$ discussed treatment and $83\%$ lacked the voice of a person with mental illness.

Psycho ($1960$)

An Alfred Hitchcock film that portrayed psychiatry as ineffectual and mental illness as violent and incurable.

Prime-time TV Statistics

One-fifth of programs depict mental health aspects; of the characters portrayed as mentally ill, $72\%$ were depicted as violent.

Self-Stigma

Feelings of inferiority, belittlement, and self-rejection resulting from negative media depictions and the ignoring of intersectional identities.

GLAAD examine of trans portrayals

A $10$-year study finding that transgender people were depicted as serial killers or villains in $21\%$ of roles.

Queer coding

An unfortunate pattern where insane characters with implied mental illness are depicted with traits associated with the LGBTQ+ community.

Disney Animated Films Research

Found that $85\%$ of films contained references to mental illness, and $21\%$ of all principal characters were referred to as mentally ill.

Stigmatizing labels in children's media

Terms such as crazy or nutty as a fruitcake that help children acquire negative connotations and stereotypes.

The Alienist, The Quack, and The Oracle

Categories identified by Gabbard and Gabbard ($1999$) representing the stigmatization of mental health professionals in media.

Stigma

A negative evaluation of a person as tainted or discredited on the basis of attributes.

Munchausen by Internet

A term created in $2000$ by Dr. Mark Feldman describing a pattern of behavior where a person seeks attention by feigning illness in online venues like forums and social media.

Munchausen syndrome

A mental health disorder where an individual falsifies, exaggerates, or induces pain or cognitive disorders.

Munchausen by proxy

A condition where caregivers make up or cause an illness or injury in a person under their care.

Sick role

A temporary social role defining a pattern of behavior individuals must follow as part of their responsibility of being ill.

The Self

A composite of thoughts and feelings from which individuals derive their conceptions of who and what they are.

Agents of socialization

Individuals, groups, and social institutions that together help people become functioning members of society.

Impression management

The process described in the dramaturgical model where people are constantly engaged in managing how others perceive them.

Romanticize

To deal with or describe something in an idealized or unrealistic fashion, making it seem more appealing than it really is.

ADHD on TikTok Study

An analysis showing that over half of the videos ($52\%$) were misleading, and only $21$ were deemed useful.

Post-Truth Era Barriers

A major barrier to psychiatric involvement in media is ethics violations, alongside the complexity of mental health topics requiring longer storylines.