The object of this work is the concepts of mental disorders as a social constructs and the role of the mass media in the process of their construction. The main aim of the dissertation is to analyze the representations of people with mental disorders in the Lithuanian newspapers and news websites and to examine manifestations of these depictions in the public opinion.

The dissertation consists of an introduction, four main parts, conclusions and the list of references. In the first part of the dissertation the theoretical methodological presumptions of P. L. Berger’s and T. Luckmann’s theory of social constructionism are presented and the phenomenon of the social construction of mental disorders is analyzed using this theoretical framework. In the second part the influence and importance of the mass media in the process of constructing representations of social phenomena, including mental disorders is presented. The methods of the empirical research are presented in the third part of the work. Analysis and interpretations of the empirical research data are presented in the fourth part of the dissertation. At the end of the work conclusions are stated.

The main aim of the dissertation was reached by conducting a three staged empirical research combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research methods were: the analysis of the mass media publications using methods of Discourse analysis and Content analysis; the investigation of public opinion by representative poll; the analysis of the opinion of people with mental disorders using Focus group method.

It is argued in the dissertation that the Lithuanian mass media constructs representations of people with mental disorders using stereotypes, conceptions of predominant medical model and by this conveys and supports stigmatization of this group.

Raktažodžiai: Mental disorders, mass media, social constructionism.