In this day and age, does having a mental illness still carry a stigma? According to research by Prashant Bharadwaj, Mallesh M. Pai, Agne Suziedelyte, the answer is yes.
Comparing self-reports to administrative data records on diagnosis and prescription drug use, we find that survey respondents under-report mental health conditions 36% of the time when asked about diagnosis and about 20% of the time when asked about prescription drug use. Survey respondents are significantly less likely to under-report other conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. This behavior is consistent with a model in which mental health illnesses are stigmatized and agents have incentives to hide such traits from others.
The authors also find that this stigma may prevent patients with a mentally ill from seeking needed care.