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Mental Illness in the Media
There has been a significant amount of research into images of the mentally ill in the
mass media, particularly in the last decade as society has become increasingly aware of both the
complexities of mental illness as well as the large number of people suffering from these
disorders. Much of the research has involved content analyses of different media outlets which
have examined whether mental illness is considered at all and if so how those who suffer are
portrayed. While discussions about mental illnesses are increasing in the mass media, ignorance
about mental health issues persists, and there is still considerable concern about the continued
problem of stigma being attached to the illnesses and those who suffer from them.
Questions about whether media portrayals influence public perceptions of mental illness
were being raised as early as the late 1960s when an experimental BBC study concluded that
positive media images of the mentally ill in a set of documentaries resulted in improved
knowledge about and an increased willingness to associate with those suffering from a mental
illness (Belson, 1967).
Certainly, the research is divided between examinations of factual programming, most
commonly the news media and fictional programming. And while Law & Order clearly falls in
the latter category, it complicates the usually defined line of genre differentiation through its
claim to be “ripped from the headlines.”
There have been a number of content analyses of fictional programming and the portrayal
of mental illness (Gerbner, 1980 &1993; Gerbner et al, 1981; Fruth & Padderrud,1985;
Signorelli, 1989; Wahl, 1995). The most comprehensive was George Gerbner’s 1993 study
which examined ten seasons of network and cable prime time drama, cartoons, and daytime
drama. He concluded that those suffering from mental illnesses are the most negatively portrayed
Convention