And is there no new thing under the sun? Retrospective study on the presence of stigmatizing articles in two Italian newspapers during the period 2006–2021

This study explores the representation of mental health in two prominent Italian newspapers, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica, spanning from 2006 to 2021. The aim was to quantify articles containing mental health-related terms, assess their focus on mental health issues, detect stigmatizing content, analyze temporal trends, and find possible predictors of stigmatizing articles. The search utilized electronic archives, with evaluators categorizing articles as mental health-related (rMH) or not (nrMH), further classifying rMH as stigmatizing, nonstigmatizing, neutral, or mixed. Out of the 1,988 articles meeting the inclusion criteria (nrMH: 1,511; rMH: 451), the percentage of rMH articles varies from 17.79% in 2006 to 27.16% in 2021, and there is a statistically significant difference in the distribution of articles (rMH/nrMH) over the 6 years considered (χ² = 16.52; df = 5; p = .005). The study highlights variations in stigmatization across the years. In 2009, stigmatizing articles peaked at 19.78%, while none were identified in 2018. Statistical analysis indicates a significant shift in the characterization of rMH articles (stigmatizing/nonstigmatizing/neutral/mixed) over time (χ² = 65.50; df = 15; p < .001), revealing an increasing trend in nonstigmatizing articles. Additionally, logistic regression identifies two potential predictors of stigmatizing articles: the number of words in the title and the type of addressed mental health disorder. Although our study demonstrates an optimistic, but far from consistent, trend in the number of stigmatizing articles over time, it is necessary to continue promoting the correct use of the press in addressing issues related to mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)