کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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953756 | 927602 | 2008 | 10 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
People with depression often conceal their depression and do not seek help, in part because of the stigma associated with mental illness. We propose two motivational systems for the self: egosystem motivations, concerned with protecting and inflating desired self-images, and ecosystem motivations, concerned with contributing or supporting others. Using a sample of 48 individuals at a Midwestern university, USA, this study examined motivations for disclosing or concealing a concealable stigma, to test the hypotheses that: (1) these motivations load on two factors corresponding to egosystem and ecosystem goals, and (2) ecosystem motivations for disclosure have more positive effects on disclosure and psychological well-being. We found that people with egosystem goals disclosed less, and also experienced lower psychological well-being when they did disclose. Conversely, people with ecosystem goals disclosed more and experienced greater psychological well-being while doing so. Implications of these findings for deciding when and to whom to disclose one's depression are discussed.
Journal: Social Science & Medicine - Volume 67, Issue 3, August 2008, Pages 453–462