The use of puppets with elementary school children in reducing stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness

Background: Mental health reform has resulted in individuals with mental illness, who previously resided in psychiatric institutions, being moved into the community. These individuals potentially face multi-faceted discrimination, which may impair their recovery. Aims: Most anti-stigma campaigns have been directed at adults or adolescents. We targeted children in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a puppet program to reduce stigmatizing attitudes in grades 3 - 6 students. Method: Children received a pre and posttest of their attitudes as measured by the re-factored. Opinions About Mental Illness Scale. The experimental group watched a series of three plays in which hand puppets portrayed individuals with schizophrenia, depression anxiety, and dementia. The plays were designed to challenge stereotypes and erroneous beliefs regarding mental illness, while appealing to children. Results: Scores for the children exposed to the puppet plays improved significantly on three of the six factors of the OMI, including, Separatism, Restrictiveness and Stigmatization. Conclusions: Anti-stigma programs using puppetry show some effectiveness and should be further studied.