Assessing knowledge and attitudes about mental illness in Ningxia, China

Mental health knowledge and awareness among university students in Bangladesh

Negative attitudes toward mental illness and treatment are attributed to a lack of or inaccurate mental health knowledge. We aimed to assess the current mental health knowledge and awareness among Bangladeshi university students and identified socio-demographic factors that affect them. Between February and April of 2021, a cross-sectional study of 2036 university students in Bangladesh was conducted. Two different questionnaires (i.e., knowledge and awareness) were developed to assess mental health knowledge and awareness. The two outcome variables in this study were mental health knowledge level and awareness level. The cut-off value was taken as 80% of the total scores of both the knowledge and awareness scales and divided into higher and lower groups. Data were analyzed using different descriptive statistical tools and binary logistic regression model. We found more than half (62.1%) of the students had higher knowledge, and 85.1% of the students had a higher awareness of mental health problems. Female students (OR 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15–1.72) and students managing their expenses by personal income and family support were significantly positively associated with the high knowledge of the mental health (OR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.40–2.29). Similarly, age (OR 1.47, 95% CI: 1.01–2.14) was significantly associated with high awareness. Good mental health was significantly negatively associated with the high knowledge (OR 0.72, 95% CI: 0.6–0.87) and positively associated with the high awareness (OR 1.48, 95% CI: 1.15–1.91). Although mental health awareness is high among Bangladeshi university students, knowledge of mental health is insufficient. As a result, it is essential to comprehend the gaps in knowledge and awareness of mental health disorders, as well as how they are addressed.

Public attitudes towards protecting the human rights of people with mental illness: a scoping review and data from a population trend study in Germany

The human rights of people with mental illness are constantly threatened. We conduct a scoping review showing how public attitudes towards protecting human rights have so far been examined and providing an overview of our present knowledge of these attitudes, and present novel findings from a trend study in Germany over nine years, reporting attitudes elicited in 2020 and examining whether these attitudes have changed since 2011. Few studies address attitudes towards human rights explicitly, but several studies contain single items on either first generation human rights, mainly concerning involuntary admission, or civil liberties like the right to vote, or second generation human rights, mainly with regard to funding for healthcare, but also for example regarding career choice. Recent data from Germany showed little improvement in attitudes towards protecting human rights over the last decade and particularly high support for restricting job opportunities for people with mental illness. Although generally, most restrictions were supported by a minority of respondents only, both our data and our scoping review indicate substantial support for several restrictions in several countries, showing that public attitudes pose a challenge to the human rights of persons with mental illness. We discuss possible lines of future research.

Stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and other stigmatizing conditions in China using two cultural-sensitive measures of stigma: interpersonal distance and occupational restrictiveness

BACKGROUND

Reducing stigma is a perennial target of mental health advocates, but effectively addressing stigma relies on the ability to correctly understand and accurately measure culture-specific and location-specific components of stigma and discrimination.

METHODS

We developed two culture-sensitive measures that assess the core components of stigma. The 40-item Interpersonal Distance Scale (IDS) asks respondents about their willingness to establish four different types of relationships with individuals with 10 target conditions, including five mental health-related conditions and five comparison conditions. The 40-item Occupational Restrictiveness Scale (ORS) asks respondents how suitable it is for individuals with the 10 conditions to assume four different types of occupations. The scales - which take 15 min to complete - were administered as part of a 2013 survey in Ningxia Province, China to a representative sample of 2425 adult community members.

RESULTS

IDS and ORS differentiated the level of stigma between the 10 conditions. Of the total, 81% of respondents were unwilling to have interpersonal relationships with individuals with mental health-related conditions and 91% considered them unsuitable for various occupations. Substantial differences in attitudes about the five mental health-related conditions suggest that there is no community consensus about what constitutes a 'mental illness'.

CONCLUSIONS

Selection of comparison conditions, types of social relationships, and types of occupations considered by the IDS and ORS make it possible to develop culture-sensitive and cohort-specific measures of interpersonal distance and occupational restrictiveness that can be used to compare the level and type of stigma associated with different conditions and to monitor changes in stigma over time.

Association between Mental Health Knowledge Level and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese College Students

This study aimed to explore the association between mental health knowledge level and the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in six universities in Jinan, Shandong Province, China, and a total of 600 college students were recruited to self-complete a series of questionnaires. The Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (MHKQ) was used to investigate the level of mental health knowledge. Depressive symptoms were investigated with the depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The prevalence rate of depressive symptoms among college students was 31.2%. Compared with MHKQ scoring in the 1st quartile, college students with MHKQ scoring in the 3rd quartile and in the 4th quartile reported lower levels of depressive symptoms after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Since mental health knowledge level was related to depressive symptoms among college students, increased efforts to promote the level of mental health knowledge in Chinese college students are critical.

Mental health stigma and mental health knowledge in Chinese population: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the public stigma on mental illness and mental health knowledge (MHK) in China, public stigma and low MHK can negatively affect patients' health and increase the burden of mental disorders on society. This study aimed at investigating the rates of stigma and MHK, the correlates of stigma and MHK, and the association between MHK and stigma among a Chinese population.

METHODS

The data is from the Tianjin Mental Health Survey (TJMHS), which involved a large and a representative sample of adult community residents in the Chinese municipality of Tianjin (n = 11,748). In a 12% random subsample (n = 1775) the Perceived Discrimination and Devaluation scale (PDD) and a Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (MHKQ) were administered. First, percentages of the responses to the individual items of the PDD and MHKQ were investigated. Second, sociodemographic correlates of PDD and MHK, and the association between stigma and MHK were investigated.

RESULTS

We found that a sizable proportion of participants responded that others would hold a negative attitude towards (former) mental patients, especially with regard to engaging in closer personal relationships. Most people were not familiar about the causes, treatments and prevention of mental illness. Resident area, age, education level, Per capita family income and employment status were related to devaluation score and MHKQ score. MHK was negatively associated with public stigma.

CONCLUSIONS

There is room for improvement with regard to levels of public stigma and MHK in China. Providing psychoeducation to improve public MHK could also contribute to reduction of public stigma.

Recognition and beliefs about treatment for mental disorders in mainland China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

This review aimed to systematically investigate the Chinese public's ability to recognize specific mental disorders and their knowledge and beliefs about available treatments.

METHODS

Eight electronic databases were searched to identify quantitative studies examining recognition of depression, anxiety and/or schizophrenia, knowledge and beliefs about treatments, and/or correlates of each of the three constructs among the general population in China. Prevalence estimates were calculated for themes under each construct. Effect size r was computed for each relationship between an independent variable and one of the three constructs.

RESULTS

A total of 65 studies (N = 174,253) were included in this review. Depression (25.4%), anxiety (18.2%) and schizophrenia (18.4%) had low recognition rates. More than 80% of people agreed that one should seek professional help for mental illnesses, but fewer than 40% were likely to use professional services for their own mental health issues. Regarding psychiatric medications, 57% of the respondents agreed that medications should be taken regularly, but more than 60% believed that they would be harmful. Gender, income, residential area, occupation, education and marital status were significantly associated with level of mental health knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

The public's level of mental health literacy related to recognition of specific mental disorders, and knowledge and beliefs about treatments is still relatively low. The government should consider public education campaigns to improve this.

Public beliefs and attitudes toward schizophrenia and depression in Taiwan: A nationwide survey

Beliefs about and attitudes toward mental illness may be influenced by cultural- or country-specific contexts. Through a national survey, the current study investigated beliefs and attitudes toward people with schizophrenia and depression among the general public in Taiwan. A random-digit-dialing telephone-based cross-sectional survey was administered to Taiwanese adults aged 20-64 years (n = 1600). The data were analyzed through binary logistic regressions to test for differences between these disorders in causal beliefs, stereotypes, emotional reactions, desire for social distance, and help-seeking behavior. The results revealed that respondents were more concerned with biogenetic causal explanations for people with schizophrenia than for those with depression. Significantly more respondents perceived people with schizophrenia as more likely to be unpredictable and violent toward others. A similar trend was observed for the desire for social distance. For both disorders, respondents were significantly more likely to express compassion than to express anger toward the person described in the vignette. Respondents also expressed more desire for social distance from someone like the vignette who have received psychiatric treatment. These findings provide useful directions for the implementation of optimal psychoeducation among such communities. .