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Abstract
<p class="first" id="P1">Although the last decade has seen a proliferation of research
on mental
illness stigma, lack of consistency and clarity in both the conceptualization
and measurement of mental illness stigma has limited the accumulation of
scientific knowledge about mental illness stigma and its consequences. In the
present article, we bring together the different foci of mental illness stigma
research with the
<i>Mental Illness Stigma Framework (MISF)</i>. The
MISF provides a common framework and set of terminology for understanding
mechanisms of mental illness stigma that are relevant to the study of both the
stigmatized and the stigmatizer. We then apply this framework to systematically
review and classify stigma measures used in the past decade according to their
corresponding stigma mechanisms. We identified more than 400 measures of mental
illness stigma, two thirds of which had not undergone any systematic
psychometric evaluation. Stereotypes and discrimination received the most
research attention, while mechanisms that focus on the perspective of
individuals with mental illness (e.g., experienced, anticipated, or internalized
stigma) have been the least studied. Finally, we use the MISF to discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of mental illness stigma measurement, identify gaps in
the literature, and provide recommendations for future research.
</p>