Dissertation

Mental Health Matters?

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Abstract

This study aims to understand how universities use visual and textual language to destigmatise mental health and illnesses. In discussions of college institutions increasing their anti-stigmatic media content, a controversial issue is whether these universities genuinely contribute to mental health and illness destigmatisation. While some argue that this content about mental health normalises and eliminates the stigma, others contend that this content still reinforces stigmatic views. Understanding the visual and textual complexities of mental health and illness stigma in media through its historical origins enabled this study to grasp both ideas. Furthermore, evaluating the validity of anti-stigma online media created and posted by the academic institutions Arizona State University and Dublin City University allowed this historical concept of stigma to be applied in a modern-day context. Using qualitative methods from well-versed semiotic scholars such as Dyer (1982) and Rose (2016), the findings indicated that stigma is implicitly signified in ASU and DCU’s mental health and illness media content, despite explicit anti-stigma remarks. This analysis led to a discussion over these institutions' generic visuals and texts that suggest mental health and illness content is published to fulfil a social trend. Additionally, the study found a lack of direct communication between ASU and DCU regarding their international student's mental well-being, which led to further recommended areas of research and developments on addressing stigma in the university setting. Finally, concluding statements remarked how awareness of stigma is part of the action required to destigmatise—mental health matters; nevertheless, how it is presented matters too.

Keywords: stigma, destigmatisation, mental health, signs, media content, university

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