Examination of the relationship between internalized stigma and quality of in people with mental disease

Self-stigmatization or internalized stigma is the internalization of the stigma of being inadequate and worthless by the individual, which the rest of the society believes. To conceptualize internalized stigma, it is the set of false and incompatible beliefs that an individual develops (Yanos & others, 2011). The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) group defines the quality of life as "the patient's personal perception of his / her situation in life, both in the context of the cultural structure and system of values in which he / she lives and in terms of his / her own goals, expectations, standards and concerns" (Whoqol Group, 1995). The model of this research is the relational survey model. The sample group was chosen as 150 individuals between the ages of 18-65, who are not based on probability, and who have mental illnesses to which scales can be delivered online by snowball method. In the form prepared by the researcher in order to obtain personal information from the participants, the questions of the participants' age, gender, marital status, employment status, profession, whether they are diagnosed with a mental illness and whether there is an individual with a mental diagnosis in their family were asked. According to the results of the study, when the relationship between internalized stigma and quality of life was examined, a moderately negative relationship was found. In this context, as the internalized stigmatization increases, the moderate quality of life decreases. When the findings obtained according to the age demographic variable of internalized stigma and quality of life were examined, it was found that there was a weak relationship between internalized stigmatization and age. According to the variable of receiving psychiatric or psychological support, 73.3% of the participants had received psychiatric or psychological support for any reason before, and 26.7% did not. It was determined that 9.3% of the participants were hospitalized due to a psychiatric disorder, 90.7% were not hospitalized due to a psychiatric disorder, 5.3% were hospitalized for 2 weeks, and 4% were hospitalized for 6 months. It was found that 46% of the participants' parents were both alive, 21.3% of them both died, 18% of them died, and 14.7% of them died. The most important result of the current study is that it determined the effect of internalized stigma on the quality of life in individuals with mental illness. It is thought that early diagnosis and intervention of mental diseases will help in reducing the negative effects of diseases. It is thought that trainings aimed at preventing stigma applied in various institutions will reduce the tendency of stigmatization and internalized stigmatization towards mental illnesses. Experimental studies using treatment and psychoeducation can be done for future studies. As a result of experimental studies, it can be seen to what extent treatment and psychoeducation will reduce internalized stigma and increase the quality of life.