Social Stigma on Dr Simon FELIX

[Caiada et al., 2026] - Measuring intimate relationship self-stigma in serious mental illness: scale development and validation

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Auteurs

Meryl Caiada, Antoinette Prouteau, Simon Felix, Sarah Guionnet, Justin Lamontagne, Emma Tison, Kevin-Marc Valery, Luc Vigneault, Tania Lecomte

Résumé de l’article

Individuals living with serious mental illness (SMI) face pervasive stigma, with damaging effects on their intimate lives. Although evidence suggests individuals might endorse stereotypes about their romantic relationships, no tool has addressed self-stigma in this domain. This study aimed to develop and validate the Intimate Relationship Self-Stigma Scale (IRSS), specifically, to determine its structural and construct validity, as well as the internal consistency and test-retest reliability. This instrument was co-constructed with peer support workers living with SMI. Using a bipolar semantic differential format, the IRSS captures both self-stigmatizing beliefs and positive self-perceptions. Items were generated through focus groups and literature review. Participants with SMI (N = 150) completed the IRSS online, along with measures of internalized stigma, self-esteem, and romantic functioning. Exploratory factor analyses supported a four-factor structure-Disclosure Effects, Self-Attractiveness, Stability, and Intimacy Needs-explaining 48.6% of the variance. Subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (ω = .69-.87), test-retest reliability (ICC = .79-.93), and expected correlations with related constructs. The IRSS fills a critical gap in recovery-oriented mental health care by providing a comprehensive assessment of internalized stigma in romantic contexts while simultaneously capturing positive self-perceptions. Further validation, including confirmatory factor analyses and cross-cultural validity, is warranted.

Référence complète

Meryl Caiada, Antoinette Prouteau, Simon Felix, Sarah Guionnet, Justin Lamontagne, Emma Tison, Kevin-Marc Valery, Luc Vigneault, Tania Lecomte (2026). Measuring intimate relationship self-stigma in serious mental illness: scale development and validation. Journal of Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2025.2595604

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Journal


Journal	Journal of Mental Health
H-index	112
Impact Factor (2 ans)	2.09
Scimago	Voir la fiche

[Valery et al., 2025] - The Power of Beliefs in Recovery-Oriented Practice: A Brief Report from the STIGMAPRO Survey

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Auteurs

Kevin-Marc Valery, Simon Felix, Meryl Caiada, Thomas Fournier, Sarah Guionnet, Adrien Seguela, Emma Tison, Louis Violeau, Antoinette Prouteau

Résumé de l’article

Despite the international incentives and the worldwide development of recovery-oriented policies, it has proven challenging to establish recovery-oriented mental health services that take into account users’ subjectivity and perspectives (Slade et al., World Psychiatry 13(1):12-20, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20084 ). The objective of this study was to identify individual beliefs that are correlated with six recovery-oriented practices in schizophrenia among mental health professionals. Seven individual beliefs were examined for their association with each of the aforementioned practices: belief in recovery possibilities, biological beliefs, desire for social distance, perceived similarities, professional utility beliefs, continuum beliefs, and categorical beliefs. The results indicated that belief in the possibility of recovery from schizophrenia and professional efficacy beliefs were the most strongly associated with the six recovery-oriented practices examined. Conversely, there was a negative association between stigma score (desire for social distance) and the six recovery-oriented practices. The remaining four beliefs-biological, perceived similarity, categorical, and continuum-were found to be more weakly associated with recovery-oriented practices. In light of these findings, it is evident that mental health professionals’ individual beliefs warrant further consideration in research endeavors aimed at fostering and facilitating the implementation of recovery-oriented practices.

Référence complète

Kevin-Marc Valery, Simon Felix, Meryl Caiada, Thomas Fournier, Sarah Guionnet, Adrien Seguela, Emma Tison, Louis Violeau, Antoinette Prouteau (2025). The Power of Beliefs in Recovery-Oriented Practice: A Brief Report from the STIGMAPRO Survey. Community Mental Health Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-024-01437-6

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Journal	Community Mental Health Journal
H-index	116
Impact Factor (2 ans)	1.47
Scimago	Voir la fiche

[Caiada et al., 2025] - Stigmatizing intimate relationships in schizophrenia: a study comparing mental health professionals, health students and the general population

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Auteurs

Meryl Caiada, Kevin-Marc Valery, Simon Felix, Sarah Guionnet, Emma Tison, Maxime Gonin, Julien Bonilla-Guerrero, Jean-Marc Destaillats, Nicolas Pillaud, Antoinette Prouteau

Résumé de l’article

Discrimination in intimate relationships (IR) is frequently reported among persons with schizophrenia. Despite ongoing effort of international organizations to combat mental illness stigma, there remain a limited understanding of specific IR-related stereotypes. The study aimed to i) identify the stereotypes related to IR of persons with schizophrenia held by Mental Health Professionals (MHP), health students and the general population, and ii) explore the effects of several factors associated with these stereotypes. This study used a mixed-methods approach. A survey developed collaboratively with persons with lived experience of mental health conditions (PWLE) was disseminated among MHP, health students and the general population. The majority of the nine IR-related stereotypes previously identified by PWLE were endorsed by the participants (N = 532). PWLE were perceived as particularly incompetent in the domain of IR (e.g. to achieve couple project). Stereotypes endorsement varied among the groups. Continuum beliefs, perceived similarities and recovery beliefs were negatively associated with stereotype endorsement. The general population, MHP and health students endorsed several stereotypes regarding IR of persons with schizophrenia. The results provide support for the role of theoretical beliefs in IR stigmatization, suggesting they may be relevant targets for evidence-based stigma reduction programs.

Référence complète

Meryl Caiada, Kevin-Marc Valery, Simon Felix, Sarah Guionnet, Emma Tison, Maxime Gonin, Julien Bonilla-Guerrero, Jean-Marc Destaillats, Nicolas Pillaud, Antoinette Prouteau (2025). Stigmatizing intimate relationships in schizophrenia: a study comparing mental health professionals, health students and the general population. Journal of Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2024.2390378

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Journal


Journal	Journal of Mental Health
H-index	112
Impact Factor (2 ans)	2.09
Scimago	Voir la fiche