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

Abstract

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.

Controlled Study of the Impact of a Virtual Program to Reduce Stigma Among University Students Toward People With Mental Disorders

“…Experiencing stigma in medical settings is a stressor that contributes, among others, to reducing patients' quality of life and to exacerbating inequities in health outcomes and access to healthcare ( 11 – 13 ). Furthermore, stigma is considered a major obstacle against processes of mental health recovery ( 14 – 16 ) and is a main determinant of the quality of care delivered by health professionals and medical students ( 17 , 18 ).…”

“…At the international level, several strategies have been implemented within the general population, as well as medical students, to reduce stigma toward mental disorders ( 19 ), and the most successful ones have been those involving direct contact with patients ( 20 , 21 ) as well as programs with strong educational components ( 16 , 22 – 24 ). It has been shown that direct, person-to-person contact and activities where the participants and patients share thoughts and experiences around mental health are key to the success of these programs ( 25 – 27 ).…”

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

“…Studies have showed that increases in mental health knowledge may be an effective strategy to reduce the stigma of mental health and improve help-seeking behaviors [ 39 , 40 ]. College students with higher mental health knowledge may better understand the contributing factors or better recognize the triggers of psychological problems [ 19 ].…”

Socio-demographic correlates of public stigma about mental illness: a population study on Hong Kong’s Chinese population

“…Similarly, ndings on the effects of education level on mental illness stigma remain inconsistent. Lower education levels have been associated with more negative attitudes towards mental illness in Singapore [15], the United Kingdom [16] and China [21], whereas the same has been said of higher education levels for the Hong Kong Chinese population [17]. Thus, further research is needed on the impact of socioeconomic factors on mental illness stigma.…”

“…The level of mental health literacy has also been associated with public stigma [17,21,22]; thus, psychoeducational programs aimed at improving mental health knowledge is a key intervention strategy in anti-stigma programs [9]. However, the effect of psychoeducational programs on stigma reduction appears to be small [23] and tends to vary among populations from different socioeconomic backgrounds [13].…”