Public stigma toward women, mothers and non-mothers, with serious mental illness in Jewish Ultraorthodox society

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate stigma toward women with serious mental illness (SMI) within the Jewish Ultraorthodox community. It explored the impact of target motherhood, observers’ parenthood, and psychological-flexibility on stigma. 150 participants were presented with a vignette depicting a woman with\without SMI and as motherson-mothers, then surveyed for their attitudes and social distance. High levels of stigma were found toward women with SMI regardless of their motherhood status. Interestingly, observers’ parenthood correlated with increased social distance, and high psychological flexibility was linked to lower stigma. A third-level interaction was found in which there was a moderating effect of psychological flexibility on the interaction between target person’s motherhood, target person’s SMI, and stigma. The study highlights the need for culturally sensitive approaches and emphasises the significance of considering parenthood and psychological flexibility in combating stigma toward individuals with SMI in collectivistic religious societies like the Jewish Ultraorthodox community.