Another element related to mistrust, and also relevant to genetics in psychiatry, is the stigma associated with having a mental illness, or carrying a genetic risk for one’s family. Compared with Whites, Blacks have been shown to have more stigmatizing attitudes toward psychiatric disorders, perceiving individuals who suffer from these disorders as being violent or dangerous (Whaley, 1997; Anglin et al., 2006; Rao et al., 2007), and endorsing social distance from them or their relatives (Whaley, 1997; Rao et al., 2007). Some research has suggested that Blacks are less likely than Whites to use genetic explanations as causes of psychiatric disorders, because they associate the term ‘genetics’ with dysfunctional families and upbringing, a stigmatizing phenomenon stereotypically associated with Black communities (Schnittker et al., 2000). Although studies have linked beliefs about causes of mental illness to Blacks’ willingness to seek professional treatment for psychiatric disorders (Schnittker et al., 2000), few other studies have also linked their beliefs about genetic causes of nonpsychiatric illness to their willingness to participate in genetic research, it is currently unknown whether this association is true when it comes to participating in genetic research for psychiatric illness.
