Mental Health In the Media: An Analysis of English and Spanish Language News Coverage of Mental Health Stories

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: Survey studies in several English-speaking countries have shown that newspapers frequently frame mental illness in a stigmatizing way. Notably absent are positive stories that highlight the recovery of many persons with mental illness. These articles reinforce negative language or stereotypes about people with mental illness and make it more difficult for people to admit that they are having problems and to seek help. This analysis informs a larger statewide initiative to reduce stigma and discrimination toward people with mental illness in California. These data create a baseline from which to understand how the news media report on mental health and the critical role they have in shaping public perception of the subject.

Methods: English and Spanish news reports in California newspapers and online news sites from 2011 were collected using keywords in English and Spanish related to mental health. Initial results from the English scan yielded 1,465 articles and the Spanish scan provided 1,631 articles. A total sample of 655 English articles and 862 Spanish articles were selected and coded for relevance, then further coded for content.

Results: In the English language news results, 43% of articles used negative language to describe mental illness and persons living with mental illness; perceived dangerousness is discussed in 52% of the articles. On the flip side, reporters wrote about mental health treatment in 42% of stories; and 46% contained information about assistance available for treating mental health conditions. Ten percent included information on specific sources of help. The Spanish language newspapers showed a much more negative trend, with 96% of articles discussing mental illness in a negative or derogatory manner. The theme most often addressed was advocacy issues (36%), with an individual's dangerousness mentioned by 33% of the articles. Specific sources of help were only mentioned in 1% of the articles.  

Conclusions: These results are consistent with the body of research that shows individuals with mental illness continue to be portrayed in the media in ways that are negative. The Spanish language newspapers especially use this negative framing, and although they are less likely to include the theme of dangerousness than their English counterparts, they are also significantly less likely to discuss the causes of mental illness, treatment, advocacy and prevention. While most in the news media are conscientious about writing accurate and objective stories, they may come to their roles with the same negative stereotypes about people with mental illness as the rest of the population. Without realizing it, they may then perpetuate these stigmatizing attitudes through their reporting.

Implications for research and/or practice: To rebalance the preponderance of negative reporting on mental health issues and reduce the stigma that prevents people from seeking the help they need, the initiative will be conducting outreach to news media professionals statewide. This will include addressing misperceptions about people with mental illness, providing best practices for reporting on mental health issues, and designing tools that will make it easy for reporters to write stories that include positive and accurate information.