"En grupp av sådana människor, vilkas möjlighet till att föröka sig framträder som en uppenbar social, ekonomisk och medicinsk meningslöshet" - En tematisk analys av synen på psykisk ohälsa i svenska dagstidningar år 1934, 1995 samt 2020

Sammanfattning: This study aims to investigate how mental illness was portrayed and stigmatised in media in 1934, 1995, and 2020. To research this we did a qualitative thematic analysis where we examined newspaper articles from the chosen years. We sourced our articles from Kungliga Bibliotekets online archive and Mediaretriever. We selected articles either about mental illness or the prevailing view on mental illness, which we analysed by coding and thematising, and sub-thematising the articles. We developed two main themes for our analysis; the view on people with mental illness and the reasons behind mental illness, and mental illness linked to politics, laws, and, responsibility. Thereafter, we analysed the material with the help of Erving Goffman's (2020) theory regarding Stigma as well as Persson´s (2020) and Link and Phelan´s (2001) further development of the theory. We found both similarities and differences between the three years. The study showed that stigma around people with mental illness is present throughout the examined years. However, the way it is portrayed in the media has changed in 1995 and 2020. In 1934 mental illness was said to be caused by genetics or physical attributes, whereas in 1995 and 2020 the main focus was on external factors that the individual cannot control. Our study also showed examples of politics and laws that negatively affected people with mental illness in 1934, 1995, and 2020, but in different ways. In 1934 laws were used as a way to justify sterilisation of people with mental illness and in 1995 and 2020 a recurring problem was resource shortages. Finally, our study also showed that in the three years, there is a common view that society is responsible for the care of people with mental illness, but that the offered care is not adequate. This could in itself be a consequence of the stigma around mental illness.