LEARN MORE...

Home
Documents
June 2021
2
Research read this first

Research read this first

Content type

User Generated

Uploaded By

funzf1981

Pages

Showing Page:

1/7

EXPLORING IMPACT OF STIGMA AND HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOURS IN YOUNG

AUSTRALIAN MUSLIM ADULTS

1 | P a g e

Exploring Impact of Stigma and Help-Seeking Behaviours in Young Australian Muslim

Adults

1. Project Description Summary

This research aims to explore the experiences and understandings about the

willingness of young Australian Muslims to engage in seeking mental health therapy. This

research will utilise a mixed methods approach via the application of 3 validated scales, an

open-ended questionnaire and questions on demographics. recruitment is via Facebook,

where participants can access the link that redirects them to the anonymous online survey.

The survey will take approximately 15 minutes. Participants are aged between 18-28 years of

age, Muslim and proficient in the English language. The findings of this study will

contribute to field knowledge of how supporting people form this minority group to engage in

accessing health services in the future, as there is little prior research on this group. Clients

could have positive repercussions in clinical and pedagogical contexts as well as on the

provision of services for this client group.

2. Background

2.1 Literature Review.

A large body of research has investigated stigma and stigma related behaviour. Major

and Brien (2005) have noted a significant increase in the discussion frequency of this

phenomenon. The outcome of their meta-analysis presented two conceptual models which are

worthy of attention for understanding stigma (Bos et al., 2013).

The first model suggested that stigma was not a single phenomenon but consisted of

numerous processes that included labelling, stereotyping, ousting people from within the

community who are not part of it, and the loss of membership by those people who were

subjected to stigmatisation and discrimination (Link and Phelan, 2001). Bos et al., (2013)

proposed a more scientific approach claiming that stigma contained four interrelated

manifestations. These are public stigma, self-stigma, stigma through association, and

structural stigma (Bos et al., 2013).

Research insinuates stigmatisation and discrimination because of mental illness

negatively affect people in general (Lamboy and Saias, 2013), inclusive of both self-stigma

and public stigma. Stigma is the negative attitudes or perceptions that both individuals and

the public have towards something. In most cases, low self-esteem and poor self-efficacy are

the significant sources of mental illness yielding to the condition of stigmatisation (Goffman,

1963). To curb this issue of stigmatisation and mental health issues, it is advisable that

becoming open about it and seeking help decreases the condition (De Rosa, 1988).

Muslims live with fear in their communities due to the beliefs that they would suffer

from discrimination if seeking treatment for mental illnesses due to stigma, self and perceived

as well as help-seeking behaviours (Afattah, 2015). Separate from external stigma, there is

also an internal stigma within the Muslim community (Damghanian & Alijanzadeh, 2018).

Even though facilities are available where people can get mental health treatment, only a few

chose to seek treatment (Zolezzi, Bensmail, Zahrah, Khaled, & El-Gaili, 2017). A study

conducted by Ciftci (2013) suggests that the most common issue leading Muslims to avoid

treatment is stigma. Due to the stigmatisation that Muslims face in their communities, they

tend to avoid being associated with mental facilities. When being diagnosed with a mental

Showing Page:

2/7

EXPLORING IMPACT OF STIGMA AND HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOURS IN YOUNG

AUSTRALIAN MUSLIM ADULTS

2 | P a g e

illness, they avoid taking medication and completing therapy because they are viewed as

outcasts by their fellow Muslims (Crossouard, Dunne, Durrani, & Fincham, 2017).

The forming of a hybrid identity, mixed with western and religious influences has

resulted in underutilisation of services as suggested by Yousaf et al. (2015), the Muslim

population’s general trend of not attending therapy and even a consultation with an expert is

due to the widespread level of stigma in relation to even the concept of psychological health

(Alhomaizi et al., 2017).

2.2 Rationale.

The enhancement of mental health care over the years is yet to impact people

choosing not to seek treatment or quitting during early stages. These discrepancies occur as

an effect of several reasons, the most substantial being stigma which hurts the affected as

well as their community. This, in turn, results in inequalities and disastrous outcomes

(Awaad, 2015).

Research conducted on Arabs in Australia concluded that shame of sharing personal

issues with unknowns, due to the stigma associated with it, was the highest factor impacting

the accessing of mental-health services. Self-Stigma of Help-Seeking Scale (SSHS) measured

average levels of self-stigma and found unchanging variants between Arabised and non-

Muslim continents (Vogel et al., 2013).

Almost no research relating to young Australian Muslim adults has been covered in

this area (Sa & A, 2016). As an explorative study, the hope is to understand better what

should be changed, how this change can be made, and how to achieve it best (Corrigan,

2004). Stigma researchers accentuate the need for interventions to be cultural, society based

and integrated (Corrigan, 2011).

A pragmatic method is employed in this research as it serves to combine both a

quantitative and qualitative approach. Through this statistical analysis provides a measure on

the variables, while qualitative gives voice to the participants and a personal account of their

opinion on the research question. In essence, the data increases in richness and allows for

more understanding of the study (Thomas, 2003).

2.3 Main Aims.

The main aims of this research are: (1) to explore the attitudes in the Muslim community

might limit seeking therapy; (2) to understand the relationship between the present stigma (self

or perceived) and the desire of the individual to seek mental health assistance; and (3) to explore

how young Muslim adults in Australia perceive mental health therapy.

2.4 Research Questions/ Hypotheses.

• How do young Australian Muslim adults perceive mental health therapy in Australia?

• Is there a relationship between the willingness to seek therapy and stigma in relation

to mental health in young Muslim adults?

It is hypothesised that as stigma increases, help-seeking will decrease.

3. Project Design

3.1 Methodological approach.

The research adopts an implicit assumptions strategy on the relationship between the

willingness to seek therapy and stigma about mental health on young Muslims. As, although

not articulated, the muslim community tacitly shy’s away from help-seeking (Ciftci, Jones, &

Corrigan, 2013). A mixed methods approach is utilised based on positivism and

interpretivism principles. The study starts with positivism approach as it helps to gather

information through quantitative data collected and analysed to reveal whether there is a

relationship between Muslim stigmatisation and belief as related to mental health. The

principle presumes that the obtained information is impartial to the immediate root cause of

Showing Page:

3/7

End of Preview - Want to read all 7 pages?

Access Now

Unformatted Attachment Preview

EXPLORING IMPACT OF STIGMA AND HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOURS IN YOUNG AUSTRALIAN MUSLIM ADULTS Exploring Impact of Stigma and Help-Seeking Behaviours in Young Australian Muslim Adults 1. Project Description Summary This research aims to explore the experiences and understandings about the willingness of young Australian Muslims to engage in seeking mental health therapy. This research will utilise a mixed methods approach via the application of 3 validated scales, an open-ended questionnaire and questions on demographics. recruitment is via Facebook, where participants can access the link that redirects them to the anonymous online survey. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes. Participants are aged between 18-28 years of age, Muslim and proficient in the English language. The findings of this study will contribute to field knowledge of how supporting people form this minority group to engage in accessing health services in the future, as there is little prior research on this group. Clients could have positive repercussions in clinical and pedagogical contexts as well as on the provision of services for this client group. 2. Background 2.1 Literature Review. A large body of research has investigated stigma and stigma related behaviour. Major and Brien (2005) have noted a significant increase in the discussion frequency of this phenomenon. The outcome of their meta-analysis presented two conceptual models which are worthy of attention for understanding stigma (Bos et al., ...
Purchase document to see full attachment