Mental Health is a large issue presented by the media, it is held with a lot of stereotypical views such as naming people with mental health with references such as: freaks, psychos, sciztzos and many more. The representation of the mental health has as many negatives as it does positives. Such as that there are no sympathy views given by the media and always report it as a type of problem, or a comedy reading for the people looking at the news. This is highlighted through the breakdown of Frank Bruno and how he was labeled as 'Bonkers Bruno' and that he belongs in a 'mental home' these are strong and assertive references to his health when it is not something that can be easily taken by other sufferers.
The positives of people suffering with these types of illnesses and seeing these types of news can advise them and guide them to seek help, such as various helpline numbers; these are normally posted with an article about mental health. This allows people suffering with these mental illnesses to seek help and be able to gain the confidence to allow their illnesses to be treated.
You'll always be able to find positive and negative representations of mental health anf mental illness in the media - keep looking for them and writing about them but remember to make sure your analysis is based within theory.
Here is a little checklist of media theories surrounding representation...
- Stereotyping
- Mediation
- Construction
- Ideologies
- Archetypes
If you find any interesting representations of mental health then please blog it and link or embed videos or images along with your analysis.
Harmful reporting:
- A 2006 German study found that students who read negative articles about mental illness expressed more negative attitudes toward people with a mental illness.
- A 1997 study found that media accounts of mental illness that instil fear have a greater influence on public opinion than direct contact with people who have a mental illness.
- A number of international studies (1983, 1989) demonstrated that exposure to negative stories, both fictional and nonfictional, had a direct effect on attitudes which was not altered by subsequent exposure to positive stories.
- Research undertaken in 2007 by Mindframe found that 10.6% of stories in Australian media about mental illness were stigmatizing and 5.8% of reports used inappropriate or negative language.
- An Australian study (1991) found that electronic and print media coverage often reflects and perpetuates the myths and misunderstandings associated with mental illness
- A survey by SANE Australia from 2005 found that 95% of consumers believed that negative portrayals of mental illness had an effect on them and 80% reported that the effect was negative.
Reporting that can have a negative impact:
- Highlights tragedies involving untreated mental illness, contributing to community fear and isolation for those affected by mental illness
- Does not provide balance. People with a mental illness are not inherently violent, unable to work, unpredictable, untrustworthy, weak or unable to get well
- Implies mental illness is a life sentence that cannot be treated - most people are able to recover with treatment and support
- Exaggerates a person’s illness or the affect mental illness has on their behaviour
- Implies all mental illnesses are the same. The term ‘mental illness’ covers a wide range of symptoms, conditions, and effects on people’s lives
- Mocks or trivialises mental illness by using medical terms (such as bipolar) out of context
- Features negative terms such as ‘mental patient’, ‘nutter’, ‘lunatic’, ‘psycho’, ‘schizo’ and ‘mental institution’, which stigmatise mental illness and perpetuate discrimination.
Responsible reporting:
- A 1999 American study also found that the media is an important source of information about mental health issues.
- SANE research from 2007 found that inaccurate and prejudiced assumptions about people with a mental illness could be reduced through increased accurate and helpful reporting in the media.
- A 2007 study which tracked reporting of suicide and mental illness in the Australian media found the majority of items about mental illness did not stereotype people affected as violent, unpredictable, unable to work, weak, untrustworthy or unlikely to get better.
- The same study found media items about mental health/illness had increased two-and-a-half-fold in volume between 2000/2001 and 2006/7.
Reporting that can have a positive impact:
- Breaks down myths about mental illness and allows people who have experienced mental illness to tell their own stories
- Highlights the complexity of mental illness. The term ‘mental illness’ covers a wide range of symptoms, conditions, and effects on people’s lives
- Highlights stories about successfully managing a mental illness
- Provides accurate information about mental illness and specific mental disorders
- Bases information on reliable sources such as recommended experts
- Encourages people in distress to seek help, for instance by providing helpline numbers
- Uses appropriate language and avoids victimising words such as ‘afflicted’ or ‘suffers’
- Follows media codes of practice on privacy, grief and trauma.
