Implicit Bias toward People with Mental Illness: A Systematic Literature Review.

ATTITUDE (Psychology); MENTAL depression; PSYCHOLOGY information storage & retrieval systems; MEDICAL personnel; MEDLINE; REHABILITATION of people with mental illness; PREJUDICES; SCHIZOPHRENIA; SOCIAL stigma; STEREOTYPES; SYSTEMATIC reviews; EVIDENCE-based medicine; PROFESSIONAL practice; ATTITUDES toward mental illness; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; PREVENTION

The purpose of the current review was to form a comprehensive understanding of implicit bias regarding mental illness. An extensive search was conducted using reference lists and multiple academic databases. Nineteen articles were selected and analyzed in terms of participant characteristics, implicit measure designs, implicit- explicit attitude correlations, and potential moderators of implicit bias. Overall, participants showed implicit bias against people with mental illness. Correlations between participants' implicit and explicit responses were inconsistent. Further, interventions and personal contact did not prove to be significant moderators of participants' implicit bias. Implications and future directions for research in the area are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]