Do people think that depressed people are violent?

1. Depression Threat and Behavior on Violence Likelihood at Labeled 70 60 50 40 Low violence likelihood High 30 20 10 0 Troubled Depressed behavior Do people think that depressed people are violent? Depressed target’s behavior and label on perceptions of violence. William A. Ashton Merrlyn Boney Lisa Watson City University of New York, York College Purpose Research on the social rejection and the perceptions of dangerousness of people labeled mentally ill has found that perceivers reject those labeled as mentally ill and see labeled individuals as likely to harm themselves and others. However, little research exists either on the rejection of people labeled as depressed nor on perceptions of the dangerousness of such individuals. This present study was conducted to determine if such a relationship exists between beliefs concerning the dangerousness of depressed individuals, the labeling, behavior and stigmatization of depressed individuals. Methods Sixty-seven male and female college students at an urban college in the Eastern United States responded to 17 items intended to measure attitudes towards depression threat (DT). Participants then read a description of the target based upon their condition in a 2 (target’s behavior: normal/depressed) X 2 (target’s label: normal/depressed) design. Target Person Descriptions (based upon Link and Phelan, 1999) Behavior Normal (Troubled) John is working on his college degree at York College and lives in Queens. John finds it difficult juggling school, work and family demands, but he is doing well and things seem pretty okay for John. However, sometimes he sometimes feels worried, a little sad, or has trouble sleeping at night. John feels that at times things bother him more than they bother other people and that when things go wrong, he sometimes gets nervous or annoyed. Otherwise John is getting along pretty well. He enjoys being with other people and although he sometimes argues with his family, John has been getting along pretty well with his family. Depressed John is working on his college degree at York College and lives in Queens. For the past two weeks John has been feeling really down. He wakes up in the morning with a flat heavy feeling that sticks with him all day long. He isn’t enjoying things the way he normally would. In fact nothing gives him pleasure. Even when good things happen, they don’t seem to make John happy. He pushes on through his days, but it is really hard. The smallest tasks are difficult to accomplish. He finds it hard to concentrate on anything. He feels out of energy and out of steam. And even though John feels tired, when night comes he can’t go to sleep. John feels pretty worthless and very discouraged. John’s family has noticed that he hasn’t been himself for about the last month and the he has pulled away from them. John just doesn’t feel like talking. Label Normal Recently, John went to his family doctor and John described to his doctor how he has been feeling. John’s doctor said that what John described was pretty normal, but suggested that John return for another appointment in two weeks so John’s doctor can monitor John’s condition. John agreed and made an appointment for two weeks. Depressed Recently, John went to his family doctor and John described to his doctor how he has been feeling. John’s doctor said that what John described indicated that John was suffering from clinical depression, and suggested that John return for another appointment in two weeks so John’s doctor can monitor John’s condition. John agreed and made an appointment for two weeks. The target in the depressed-behavior conditions was described as expressing symptoms of depression. The target in the depressed-label conditions described his symptoms to his physician, who made a diagnosis of clinical depression and asked the target to return in two weeks. The target in the normal-label conditions described his symptoms to his physician, who made no diagnosis and asked the target to return in two weeks. Final Version – Depressed Threat Scale α = .84 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I strongly disagree I strongly agree with this statement with this statement 1) One important thing about people being treated for depression is that you cannot tell what they will do from one minute to the next. 2) A person who is being treated for depression represents – to some degree - a threat to normal social order. 3) If I know that a person is being treated for depression, I will be less likely to trust them. 4) Although some people who are being treated for depression may seem all right it is dangerous to forget for a moment that they are mentally ill. 5) People who are being treated for depression should not be allowed to own a gun, due to the threat they pose to themselves. 6) People who are being treated for depression should not be allowed to own a gun, due to the threat they pose to other people. 7) There’s nothing wrong allowing someone who is being treated for depression to be a foster parent. 8) People being treated for depression should be allowed to hold positions of authority (e.g. business managers, school principals) because they are just as competent on the job as normal individuals. 9) A person being treated for depression should not work at a medical facility or similar institution where they are responsible for the safety of others. 10) If I found out that a political candidate was being treated for depression, I would be less likely to vote for them. 11) Thinking about depression and depressed people makes me feel uncomfortable. 12) Someone being treated for depression would be just as good of a parent as any normal person. Stigmatization (social distance) Measure from Link et al. (1987)  = .91 Please answer the following questions about John, the person in the story. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I would be definitely I would be definitely unwilling to do so willing to do so 1) How would you feel about sharing an apartment with someone like John? 2) How about working on the same job as someone like John? 3) How would you feel having someone like John as a neighbor? 4) How about as the babysitter of your children or your younger siblings for a few hours? 5) How about having a close relative (brother or sister) marry someone like John? 6) How would you feel about setting up John on a date with a female friend of yours? 7) How would you feel about recommending someone like John for a job working for or with a friend of your? Social Distance Dependent Variable The ANOVA for the social distance composite revealed a two-way interaction for behavior and DT [F (1, 45) = 3.688, p=.061, η2=.07] which approached traditional levels of significance. Simple main effects tests indicated that social distance was higher when the target was behaving in a depressed manner only for high DT participants (p<.01). Violence Likelihood Dependent Variable The ANOVA for the violence likelihood composite revealed a significant three-way interaction [F (1, 35) = 6.55, p<.015, η2=.11]. This interaction was localized to the DT X Behavior interaction for labeled targets only [ F (1, 35) = 6.41, p < .05]; and SME tests found that violence likelihood was higher when the target was behaving in a depressed manner only for high DT participants (p<.0001). Discussion An interesting pattern of results was discovered. For estimates of the target’s likelihood of committing violence, the target’s behavior and perceivers’ preexisting beliefs regarding the dangerousness of depressed people only mattered if the target was labeled as depressed. If not, similar depressed behavior did not elicit concerns for violent action. Looking at the results this way, highlighting the critical nature of label, supports Link, Cullen, Frank & Wozniak’s (1987). However, the findings for the DV social distance were different. The target’s behavior interacted with our perceivers’ beliefs in the absence of any effect of label. This can be understood by viewing the results from the perspective of Coyne’s (1976) work, which found that people behaving in a depressed manner caused others to feel negatively and thus others reject depressed people. Thus, Coyne is essentially saying that depressed behavior causes a desire for social distance – exactly what was found here. References Coyne, J.C. (1976). Toward an interactional description of depression. Psychiatry, 39, 28-40. Link, B. G., Cullen, F. T., Frank, J., & Wozniak, J. F. (1987). The social rejection of former mental patients: Understanding why labels matter. American Journal of Sociology, 92, 1461-1500. Link, B. G., & Phelan, J. C. (1999). Public conceptions of mental illness: Labels, causes, dangerousness, and social distance. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1328-1434. Violence Likelihood Scale α = .89 8) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would try to hurt himself? ________ % chance (0 to 100) 9) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would attempt committing suicide. 10) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would succeed in committing suicide? 11) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would through carelessness hurt someone else? 12) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would intentionally hurt someone else? 13) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would accidentally kill someone else? 14) On a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is no chance at all and 100 is absolute certainty, how likely do you think that John would intentionally kill someone else? Results Scale Construction Three DT items were dropped in order to maximize the scale’s internal consistency, the remaining items were combined into a scale and participants were classified as high or low on DT based upon a medium split.