Cultural Stigma and Social Exclusion for Adolescent with Mental Illness: A Case Study in Guangzhou, China

Due to the prevailing stigma towards people with mental illness, adolescents with mental health problems are facing overwhelming social exclusion in mainland China. In order to respond to the lack of studies on the social exclusion for young adolescent with mental illness in Chinese context, this study tried to explore the process of seeking medical service and daily struggles for teenagers with mental health problems in China. A case study has been conducted to understand the social exclusion for a middle school student in her school life. The data was collected from researcher’s one-year placement as a social worker in a junior middle school in Guangzhou, China. The girl, her classmates, her parents, and her teachers were targeted interviewees. According to the research findings, the cultural construction of mentally disabled people as violent and demoniacal from social media and Chinese traditional belief has profoundly affected the adolescent’s mental well-being. The research also identified a dilemma faced by young people with mental health problems. On one hand, they are entitled to the social welfare, on the other hand, the labeling effect in social welfare provision and legal responsibility for school to take care of students’ safety in Chinese social context result in an unfriendly environment for the young people in school, as being rejected by school and teachers once diagnosed. Chinese cultural value that emphasized family to take care of it member also leaves the family with great anxiety. A new service model as ‘medical care- social workers - teachers - families – peers’ for social work intervention, which seeks to promote community understanding on adolescents with mental illness, reduce the labeling consequences of ‘stigma’, and initiate a more positive social support environment for young patients’ rehabilitation was advocated.