Fathers' experiences of mental illness stigma: scoping review and implications for prevention

There has been little research attention paid to fathers experiences of mental illness stigma. This scoping review sought to (a) map the current state of academic knowledge about fathers experiences of mental illness stigma, and (b) make initial recommendations about how such knowledge may inform anti-stigma interventions and policies. A scoping study methodology was used and literature searched between December 2014 and January 2015 in Scopus, PsychINFO and MEDLINE for peer-reviewed, qualitative papers. Directed content analysis was conducted on 12 identified studies, using a 4-part typology of stigma (public, self, associative and structural) as an analytical framework. Stigma was identified as a theme in seven studies, with public stigma the most commonly experienced. A priority for stigma prevention needs to be changing the current ways in which fathers with a mental illness are portrayed and perceived by the public, mental health professionals and by fathers themselves.