Background
Methods
Sample
Coding
Data analysis
Results
Trends in article content
Year | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 (n =321) | 2000 (n =433) | 2008 (n =607) | Trend | |||||
Primary story theme | % |
n
| % |
n
| % |
n
| χ2 (d.f. = 1) |
P
|
Bad news | 59 | 188 | 44 | 190 | 37 | 222 | 39.606 | < 0.001 |
Danger to others | 21 | 66 | 23 | 101 | 14 | 87 | 7.950 | 0.005 |
Suicide and self-injury | 16 | 50 | 5 | 23 | 8 | 48 | 10.692 | 0.001 |
Victimization and severe mistreatment | 13 | 41 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 47.580 | < 0.001 |
Strange, inept, or burdensome | 10 | 31 | 12 | 50 | 13 | 76 | 1.627 | 0.202 |
Good news | ||||||||
Understanding mental illness | 26 | 85 | 45 | 197 | 50 | 301 | 41.096 | < 0.001 |
Explaining: causes, treatments, prevalence, and symptoms | 13 | 42 | 29 | 125 | 30 | 182 | 26.833 | < 0.001 |
Biological | 4 | 13 | 10 | 44 | 7 | 40 | 0.761 | 0.383 |
Psychosocial | 6 | 20 | 17 | 73 | 19 | 113 | 22.151 | < 0.001 |
Not specified | 3 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 3.765 | 0.052 |
Individuals and groups affected by mental illness | 13 | 43 | 17 | 72 | 20 | 119 | 5.820 | 0.016 |
Services and advocacy | 15 | 48 | 11 | 46 | 14 | 84 | .020 | 0.888 |
Mental health service inadequacies and improvements | 11 | 34 | 8 | 36 | 10 | 61 | 0.004 | 0.952 |
Stigma, discrimination, and public education | 4 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 23 | 0.027 | 0.871 |
Year | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 (n =321) | 2000 (n =433) | 2008 (n =607) | Trend | |||||
% |
n
| % |
n
| % |
n
| χ2 (d.f. = 1) |
P
| |
Notes that effective treatment is available and recovery is possible | 16 | 50 | 21 | 90 | 18 | 112 | 0.624 | 0.429 |
Notes that mental illness is relatively common | 6 | 18 | 9 | 41 | 5 | 32 | 0.484 | 0.486 |
Features a direct quote from an individual with mental illness | 8 | 25 | 12 | 53 | 13 | 78 | 4.638 | 0.031 |
Features a pejorative slang term | 5 | 15 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 16 | 2.867 | 0.090 |
Year | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 (n =321) | 2000 (n =433) | 2008 (n =607) | Trend | |||||
% |
n
| % |
n
| % |
n
| χ2 (d.f. = 1) |
P
| |
Guardian | 37 | 118 | 29 | 125 | 29 | 175 | ||
Bad news | 59 | 70 | 40 | 50 | 25 | 43 | 35.629 | < 0.001 |
Times | 27 | 87 | 33 | 143 | 32 | 192 | ||
Bad news | 51 | 44 | 40 | 57 | 36 | 69 | 4.908 | 0.027 |
Daily Mail | 22 | 72 | 25 | 108 | 25 | 153 | ||
Bad news | 65 | 47 | 47 | 51 | 45 | 69 | 6.736 | 0.009 |
Evening Standard | 14 | 44 | 13 | 57 | 13 | 87 | ||
Bad news | 61 | 27 | 56 | 32 | 47 | 41 | 2.595 | 0.107 |
Variation in coverage by diagnosis
Year | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 (n =321) | 2000 (n =433) | 2008 (n =607) | Trend | |||||
% |
n
| % |
n
| % |
n
| χ2 (d.f. = 1) |
P
| |
No diagnosis specified | 39 | 124 | 24 | 102 | 31 | 189 | ||
Bad news | 76 | 94 | 73 | 74 | 48 | 91 | 26.653 | < 0.001 |
Understanding mental illness | 6 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 24 | 45 | 17.096 | < 0.001 |
Services and advocacy | 18 | 22 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 53 | 5.692 | 0.017 |
Depression | 28 | 91 | 34 | 149 | 37 | 226 | ||
Bad news | 38 | 35 | 32 | 47 | 28 | 63 | 3.287 | 0.070 |
Understanding mental illness | 46 | 42 | 59 | 88 | 63 | 142 | 6.643 | 0.010 |
Services and advocacy | 15 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 21 | 1.976 | 0.160 |
Eating disorders | 14 | 45 | 13 | 58 | 14 | 82 | ||
Bad news | 58 | 26 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 20.297 | < 0.001 |
Understanding mental illness | 42 | 19 | 78 | 45 | 78 | 64 | 14.682 | < 0.001 |
Services and advocacy | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | - | - |
Anxiety disorders | 10 | 32 | 14 | 62 | 11 | 67 | ||
Bad news | 19 | 6 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 0.38 | 0.845 |
Understanding mental illness | 63 | 20 | 69 | 43 | 72 | 48 | 0.760 | 0.383 |
Services and advocacy | 19 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 7 | - | - |
Schizophrenia | 12 | 38 | 14 | 59 | 9 | 57 | ||
Bad news | 58 | 22 | 49 | 29 | 68 | 39 | 1.535 | 0.215 |
Understanding mental illness | 16 | 6 | 27 | 16 | 25 | 14 | 0.758 | 0.384 |
Services and advocacy | 26 | 10 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 6.443 | 0.011 |
Bipolar disorder | 4 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 19 | ||
Bad news | 50 | 6 | 64 | 7 | 21 | 4 | - | - |
Understanding mental illness | 33 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 53 | 10 | - | - |
Services and advocacy | 17 | 2 | 27 | 3 | 26 | 5 | - | - |
Personality disorders | 2 | 7 | 6 | 26 | 1 | 9 | ||
Bad news | 86 | 6 | 85 | 22 | 56 | 5 | - | - |
Understanding mental illness | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 33 | 3 | - | - |
Services and advocacy | 14 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 1 | - | - |
ADHD | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 24 | ||
Bad news | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 2 | - | - |
Understanding mental illness | 0 | 0 | 72 | 13 | 88 | 21 | - | - |
Services and advocacy | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - |
Other disorders | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | ||
Bad news | 50 | 1 | 40 | 2 | 14 | 1 | - | - |
Understanding mental illness | 0 | 0 | 60 | 3 | 71 | 5 | - | - |
Services and advocacy | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | - | - |