Mackenzie Parker Source #3

Question: What are the social stigmas that surround suicide and do they impact the rates of suicide?

Citation: Reynders, A., A. J. F. M. Kerkhof, G. Molenberghs, and C. Audenhove. "Attitudes and Stigma in Relation to Help-seeking Intentions for Psychological Problems in Low and High Suicide Rate Regions." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 49.2 (2014): 231-39. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.



This journal talked about the different types of stigma that is associated with suicide and how those affect the rates of suicide. The author made an argument that there are two types of stigma: perceived stigma and self-stigma. Perceived stigma, as the author describes it, is discriminating behavior towards people who attempt to seek help. The second kind, self-stigma, is when people internalize the typical stigma towards people with mental illnesses which results in loss of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and non participation in society. The author also talks about 3 factors that contribute to the stigma of suicide These are the negative beliefs and stereotypes people have towards those suffering with mental illness, being prejudice towards this group, and the behavioral response of those being prejudice to distance themselves from people with suicidal thoughts. The authors main argument is that suicidal people are more stigmatized if they seek help because then people are aware of their illnesses. However, he also argues that perceived stigma does not play a large role in teenagers when seeking help about suicide, it is more of self-stigma.

This source really helped me to consider the different types of stigma. I always thought that stigma was just one demential, but this author brought up a good argument about how different types of stigma can have different results on those with an illness and those within society. I am not sure that I agree with this claim that perceived stigma does not play a big role in the rates of teenage suicide. I feel that others opinions about suicide will affect their self-stigma and that will overall affect the stigma of suicide. I would like to find an opposing article, if there is one, about how if teenagers are most influenced to get help or not based off of that factors.

In my previous source, the author argues that if we attempt to decrease the stigma around suicide, then it may have a very negative outcome, causing people to feel that how they are feeling is common and that it is ok. This source talks a lot about the different kinds of stigma that go hand in hand with suicide and that the main cause of suicide is from people internalizing others thoughts about them making them more likely to commit suicide. Both of these authors have different views on what stigma is and the result it has on those with suicidal thoughts. I would agree with the author who claims that reducing the stigma will have a negative affect because it will make people feel as if these feeling are normal.  I do not agree with the author who claims that perceived stigma does not have a connection with suicide rates because stigma begins with what people think of a situation and then evolves into how others react to the stigma.

this article has made me consider what others may think about how stigma is produced and what affects those different types on suicide rates. I plan to look for an article that deals with what different kinds of stigma there are that are related to suicide and if these have different or more severe effects of certain people. I think it would be interesting to get different perspectives on different stigmas and how it affects people in different ways. I also want to look for some counter arguments that look at if reducing the stigma around suicide may actually help decrease suicide rates, instead of having a negative outcome as my second source argued.