Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-19-2021

Publication Title

Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine

Volume

44

Issue

2

First Page

52

Last Page

61

Abstract

Public stigma against mental illness is a barrier to treatment and recovery. Research into the design of anti-stigma messages has focused heavily on text; there is limited information on what types of images are most persuasive in eliciting anti-stigma outcomes. This is important to study because the type of image used to depict an illness can influence how the illness is perceived, which in turn can affect how people with the illness are treated. Through an online experiment with 162 American adults, this study investigated whether mental illness narratives about depression illustrated with photographs are more effective than those illustrated with cartoons at reducing stigma. It was found that the illustrated narratives, whether with photo or cartoon, produced more anti-stigma effects than the text-only narrative (control). Further, the photographic narrative was more effective than the cartoon narrative in eliciting closeness to the story protagonist and willingness to donate to mental health services. The study’s findings indicate that images should be used in anti-stigma messages on depression; further, regarding image type, photographs should be considered over cartoons as they are more effective in eliciting certain anti-stigma outcomes.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine on April 19, 2021, available online: https://doi-org.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/10.1080/17453054.2021.1901561

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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