Portrayal of Mental Illness on Taiwanese Primetime Television

This study explores the frequency and nature of mental illness portrayal in Taiwanese primetime television programming. The research sample included all primetime (7-10pm) programming broadcast during July 2013 on the four major television networks- Taiwan Television (TTV), China Television (CTV), Chinese Television System (CTS), and Formosa Television (FTV). All the portrayals and references of mental illness in the sample programming were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis and constant comparison.;In the discussion of frequency of portrayal, the study suggested that viewers' selection of specific shows, program genre, type of programming, or television station contributed to variation in the frequency of their exposure to mental illness. Drama, specifically period dramas were found to contain the highest frequency of mental illness portrayal, whereas news programming was found to contained minimum coverage (<1%).;In terms of the nature of mental illness portrayal, the study identified four main themes- characteristics of the mentally ill, relationship with others, symptoms, and cause of mental illness that emerged in the process of data analysis. The nature of portrayal was found to be disproportionally negative, with aggressive, child-like, dependent, obsessive, and eccentric being the most prominent characteristic in the portrayal of mentally ill individual. In addition, individuals or characters who were referred as mentally ill were portrayed as a source of disappointment for others or as the subjects of ridicules and insults. In the portrayal of mental illness symptoms, confusion, hallucination, and inability to regulate behaviors and emotions were the most common depictions. The most commonly portrayed cause of mental illness was found to be a condition known as "entering into the realm of the devil," which as mentioned in the chapter is the result of incorrect or excessive practice of martial art techniques and included symptoms such as confusion, personality change, hallucination, and an inability to regulate emotions or behaviors. Finally, the findings in this study also revealed that despite the large number of negative labels associated with the mentally ill, the study also found instances in which mentally ill individuals were portrayed as displaying altruistic behaviors.;The study's findings were found to be consistent with similar studies that were conducted in western countries. Mental illness was found to regularly portrayed on television and greater numbers of negative labels were given to individuals or characters who were mentally ill.