How People Understand Mental Disorders: Social Explanations, Identity, Disparities, and Diagnostic Boundaries

Name: How People Understand Mental Disorders: Social Explanations, Identity, Disparities, and Diagnostic Boundaries
Start: 2026-05-29T00:00:00+00:00
Location: Barcelona, Spain

Friday, May 29, 2026 · Barcelona, Spain

Oral · Identity, Culture & Social Inequality

This symposium examines how people understand the nature and causes of mental disorders and mental health disparities. Presentations include research on social attributions for mental disorders, beliefs about the causes of, and reactions to information about, mental health disparities affecting high-prevalence populations, and prevalence-driven shifts in diagnostic thresholds for psychopathology.

Chairs & Discussants

Matthew LebowitzChair
New York State Psychiatric Institute
Matthew LebowitzChair
Columbia University

Presentations

Exploring the Diverse Forms and Effects of Social Explanations for Mental IllnessCliódhna O’Connor, Leigh Huggard
Stigmatized Identities and Reactions to Information about Mental-Health DisparitiesMatthew Lebowitz, Elisa Park, John Pachankis
Concept Creep In Psychiatric Diagnosis: Is It Also a Matter of Prevalence?Sven Speerforck
How the Stigmatized Understand Their Sorrow: Attributions for the Sexual Orientation Disparity In Depression and Sexual Minority Individuals’ Mental HealthJohn Pachankis, Matthew Lebowitz, Richard Bränström

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How People Understand Mental Disorders: Social Explanations, Identity, Disparities, and Diagnostic Boundaries

Chairs & Discussants

Presentations

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