Transcultural Psychiatry

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Whitley, R.
Right arrow Articles by Hickling, F. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Whitley, R.
Right arrow Articles by Hickling, F. W.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Transcultural Psychiatry, Vol. 44, No. 4, 659-671 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1363461507083903

Open Papers, Open Minds? Media Representations of Psychiatric De-institutionalization in Jamaica

Rob Whitley

Dartmouth Medical School, rob.whitley{at}dartmouth.edu

Frederick W. Hickling

University of the West Indies, frederick.hickling{at}uwimona.edu.jm

Little research has been conducted on media representations of psychiatric de-institutionalization in low-income countries. We set out to examine whether the Jamaican media takes a positive or negative orientation to psychiatric de-institutionalization, and which arguments and rhetorical devices are employed to support the media's position. This was done by the collection, review, and analysis of all stories related to psychiatric de-institutionalization published over a 26-month period from 2003 to 2005 by Jamaica's principal broadsheet newspaper. All of the stories were positive in orientation. Articles alluded to the therapeutic and economic benefits of de-institutionalization. To allay public fears, articles gave prominence to the views of senior psychiatric experts, quoted supporting statistics and international trends, and translated relevant research findings into lay language. Our results are contrary to most studies in high-income countries indicating negative media portrayals of mental illness and the mentally ill.

Key Words: de-institutionalization • Jamaica • media • mental illness • newspaper


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?