Derogatory Terms in Labeling Mental Illness and Self-Stigma of Selected Senior High School Students in Cavite: Basis in The Development of a Self-Help Booklet Against Bullying

This research aims to study mental health-related derogatory terminologies and self-stigma in the Philippines, where such labels are commonly used in daily conversation. Because disparaging labels are linked to verbal bullying, the study's main output is a self-help booklet to combat bullying. While many studies have examined labeling for mental illness, few have focused on the context, psychological impact, and specific role of these terms in fueling self-stigma for undiagnosed individuals. A self-made survey was administered to 361 senior high school students aged 18 and above, enrolled in the 2023-2024 academic year, who had been at the receiving end of derogatory label/s. Moreover, ten semi-structured interviews were subjected to Colaizzi Analysis. The instruments underwent reliability analysis and subject-matter expert validation.  Self-stigma was measured based on the three variables of Link et al.'s Modified Labeling Theory: stereotype agreement, self-concurrence, and self-esteem decrement. The quantitative findings revealed that tanga, bobo, baliw, and sira-ulo were the most frequently used derogatory terms, often used by friends to express positive and negative emotions. Despite low self-stigma across all demographic variables, significant differences were observed in stereotype agreement between gender and school types. A positive correlation was found between three self-stigma variables. The qualitative analysis revealed that labeling was common during childhood and teenage years, and exposure to negative terminologies can contribute to self-stigma. However, the context of words played a crucial role in developing self-stigma. The respondents had social support systems, but they still experienced invalidation. Maladaptive coping mechanisms were prevalent among the respondents.