From Bones to Brain: 50 Years of Star Trek and Changes in the Stigmatization of Psychological Disorders

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 39; no. 5; pp. 1705 - 1714
• Main Authors: Basilowski, M., Schönfeld, B., Esser, S., Jatho, A., Kownatka, M., Signerski-Krieger, J., Esselmann, H., Grabemann, M., Mette, C., Strunz, L., Zimmermann, M., Lajcsak, E., Scherbaum, N., Wiltfang, J., Kis, B., Abdel-Hamid, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Mental disorders; Mental illness; Patients; Psychiatry; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Social aspects; Social Sciences; Society; Stereotypes; Stigma; Stigma (Social psychology); Television programs; Therapists; Weddings; United States; Star Trek; Prevalence; Destigmatization; Psychological disorders; Percentage
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-018-9868-9

The Star Trek franchise currently includes five spin-off series and 13 motion pictures. Star Trek’s central theme is the utopian future of mankind, but the series does not disregard issues that were socially relevant for its time of production. Therefore, Star Trek has functioned as a representation of history throughout its 50-year lifespan. This paper conducts a comparative analysis of fictional representations of psychological disorders and corresponding treatments to retrace the cultural changes in the portrayal and treatment of psychological disorders from the 1960s to the turn of the millennium. Video material produced between 1966 and 1999 was analysed with a focus on psychological disorders and coded according to the ICD-10. The results of the quantitative analysis indicate that the different Star Trek series demonstrate similar patterns of percentage distributions for psychological disorders. The qualitative analysis shows that psychological disorders were portrayed and treated in an increasingly realistic fashion. Changes in society’s attitude towards psychological disorders can be comprehensively illustrated through Star Trek episodes produced through 1999. Psychological phenomena are increasingly destigmatized, and the necessity of treatment has not been disregarded.