Table 1.
| Individual discrimination stratified by gender and comparing persons without and with severe mental illness (SMI).
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEN | WOMEN | |||||||
|
| ||||||||
| Not SMI N=59 |
SMI N=210 |
Not SMI N=130 |
SMI N=242 |
|||||
| % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | |
| How often has someone ever… | ||||||||
| • made fun of you because you have a mental illness? (sometimes or often) | 49% | 29 | 64% | 134 | 50% | 65 | 73% | 177 |
| • called you “crazy”, “loca/o” or “nuts”? (sometimes or often) | 59% | 35 | 64% | 134 | 49% | 64 | 73% | 176 |
| • ignored you or not taken seriously what you had to say because you have a mental illness? (sometimes or often) | 44% | 26 | 60% | 127 | 44% | 57 | 69% | 167 |
| How often have you ever… | ||||||||
| • been treated differently from others after they learned that you had a mental illness? (sometimes or often) | 44% | 26 | 60% | 126 | 45% | 58 | 67% | 163 |
| • experienced people trying to take advantage of you because they know that you have a mental illness? (sometimes or often) | 34% | 20 | 60% | 126 | 27% | 35 | 56% | 134 |
| Thinking about all the people you had or wanted to have a romantic or sexual relationship with… | ||||||||
| • How many of them said they didn ’t want to be involved with you because you were a user of mental health services? (most of the time or always) | 3% | 2 | 8% | 17 | 2% | 3 | 6% | 15 |
| Structural discrimination stratified by gender and comparing persons without and with severe mental illness (SMI)
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEN | WOMEN | |||||||
|
| ||||||||
| Not SMI N=59 |
SMI N=210 |
Not SMI N=130 |
SMI N=242 |
|||||
| % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | |
| From Their Mental Health Care Providers | ||||||||
| Mental health care providers… | ||||||||
| • make patients feel comfortable to talk about sexuality and sex issues (agree) | 78% | 46 | 70% | 147 | 75% | 95 | 71% | 170 |
| • are supportive when clients express interest in having a romantic or sexual relationship (agree) | 69% | 38 | 73% | 149 | 70% | 83 | 67% | 155 |
| • are not supportive when users talk about sex issues (agree) | 21% | 11 | 39% | 77 | 18% | 21 | 38% | 89 |
| How often has a mental health care provider ever said that since you are a user of mental health services… | ||||||||
| • you should not have sex? (sometimes or often) | 2% | 1 | 7% | 14 | 0% | 0 | 4% | 10 |
| • you should not have a romantic or sexual relationship with other patients? (sometimes or often) | 0% | 0 | 8% | 17 | 2% | 2 | 5% | 11 |
| • you should not have a romantic or sexual relationship with people who do not have a mental illness? (sometimes or often) | 0% | 0 | 4% | 9 | 1% | 1 | 3% | 7 |
| From Family | ||||||||
| How often has someone in your family ever said that since you are a user of mental health services… | ||||||||
| • you should not have sex? (sometimes or often) | 7% | 4 | 12% | 25 | 6% | 8 | 14% | 34 |
| • you should not have a romantic or sexual relationship with other patients? (sometimes or often) | 12% | 7 | 21% | 44 | 12% | 15 | 23% | 56 |
| • you should not have a romantic or sexual relationship with people who do not have a mental illness? (sometimes or often) | 3% | 2 | 10% | 21 | 5% | 6 | 12% | 30 |
| Social psychological processes stratified by gender and comparing persons without and with severe mental illness (SMI)
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEN | WOMEN | |||||||
|
| ||||||||
| Not SMI N=59 |
SMI N=210 |
Not SMI N=130 |
SMI N=242 |
|||||
| %a | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | |
| Devaluation | ||||||||
| Most people… | ||||||||
| • …don’t show interest in having a romantic or sexual relationship with someone who has a mental illness. | 81% | 48 | 77% | 162 | 89% | 113 | 80% | 194 |
| • …think that a person with mental illness won’t be a good partner for someone who doesn’t have a mental illness. | 71% | 42 | 68% | 142 | 84% | 107 | 73% | 175 |
| • …when they find out someone is a user of mental health services, don’t think that person is sexually desirable. | 75% | 42 | 66% | 137 | 69% | 88 | 66% | 159 |
| • …think that users of mental health services should not have sexual or romantic relationships. | 44% | 25 | 43% | 91 | 50% | 64 | 55% | 133 |
| Coping | ||||||||
| • You hide the fact that you have been diagnosed with a mental illness from people you are interested in having a romantic or sexual relationship with. | 42% | 25 | 44% | 93 | 34% | 43 | 39% | 93 |
| • You feel more comfortable having a romantic or sexual relationship with people who also have used mental health services. | 27% | 16 | 33% | 67 | 16% | 20 | 23% | 54 |
| • You avoid approaching someone you are interested in having a romantic or sexual relationship with if you think he/she has negative attitudes about users of mental health services. | 63% | 37 | 67% | 140 | 65% | 82 | 75% | 180 |
| • You explain what mental illness is to those you are interested in having a sexual or romantic relationship with. | 72% | 41 | 66% | 138 | 70% | 91 | 69% | 168 |
| Low Attractiveness | ||||||||
| • Having a mental illness has a negative impact on your opportunities for sexual relationships. | 56% | 33 | 55% | 116 | 58% | 76 | 57% | 137 |
| • Having a mental illness makes you feel less attractive than other women/men. | 41% | 24 | 34% | 72 | 42% | 55 | 46% | 111 |
| Locus of Sexual Control | ||||||||
| • You are the one who chooses the course of your sexual life. | 93% | 55 | 91% | 192 | 87% | 113 | 88% | 214 |
| • In order to be sexually active, you always do what other people ask of you. | 29% | 17 | 24% | 51 | 23% | 30 | 23% | 55 |