Exploring urbanicity and its relationship with stigma and well-being outcomes for people with serious mental illnesses.

Abstract

Following deinstitutionalization, services and housing for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) became concentrated in economically disadvantaged urban centers. As these areas gentrify, affordable housing for peoplewith SMI is increasingly found in nonurban areas. Although nonurban environments provide benefits for the general population, people with SMI living in nonurban areas perceive higher levels of mental illness stigma. Thus, the relationship between perceived stigma and negative outcomes such as high psychological distress and low sense of community may be stronger in nonurban areas. Data collected from 300 adults with SMI living in urban and nonurban areas were analyzed using a moderated regression design. Urbanicity did not moderate the relationships between perceived stigma and negative outcomes. However, associations were found between urbanicity, perceived stigma, sense of community, and psychological distress, supporting the need to address mental illness stigma in all settings.