Investigation of the relationship between internalized stigmatization and social loneliness in psychiatric inpatients

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between internalized stigmatization and social loneliness in psychiatric inpatients.Methods: The study population consisted of all inpatients treated in the psychiatric ward of a research hospital in a province in the east of Turkey. There was no sample selection from the group of the 77 patients who received inpatient treatment at the psychiatry clinic between March 2017 and February 2018 and complied with the inclusion criteria. The Personal Information Form, Internalized Stigma in Mental Illness Scale, and Loneliness Scale were used to collect data by a face-to-face interview technique; the data were evaluated using the SPSS 23 package program. Percentage, mean, standard deviation, t test, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results: In the correlation analysis of the scales, it was determined that there was a statistically negative relation-ship between the Stigma Resistance subdimension and loneliness, and a statistically significant positive correlation between the loneliness score, mean scores of Alienation, Approval of Stereotypes, Perceived Discrimination, Social Retraction and Resistance against Stigma.Conclusion: Psychiatric patients may have a more isolated life because of internalized stigmatization. In this study, it was concluded that the level of loneliness increased as the internalized stigmatization levels of the patients increased, but that loneliness decreased as patients resisted internalized stigmatization. By decreasing the stigma and increasing the resistance to internalized stigma, patients can increase their adaptation to active social life.