Television and attitudes toward mental health issues: Cultivation analysis and the third-person effect

A television content analysis and survey of 419 community respondents supports the hypothesis that media stereotypes affect public attitudes toward mental health issues. A content analysis of network, prime‐time television demonstrates that portrayals are violent, false, and negative. The mentally disordered are portrayed as 10 times more likely to be a violent criminal than nonmentally disordered television characters. A survey demonstrates that as television viewing increases so does the belief among viewers that locating mental health services in residential neighborhoods will endanger the residents. Viewers who watch television news are less likely to support living next to someone who is mentally ill. The survey also tests the third‐person effect, and finds that viewers believe television portrayals of mental illness affect others more than themselves. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.