scholarly journals Attitude towards Mental Illness among Secondary School Students in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyasu H. Tesfamariam ◽  
Medhane M. Tekie ◽  
Amos Y. Tesfa ◽  
Dawit H. Hadgu ◽  
Eyob A. Awalom ◽  
...  

Secondary School students (SSs) are important members of the community; hence their attitude towards mental illness can be highly influential. Mentally ill individuals are not only suffering from the illness but also suffering from the stigmatizing attitude generated by the community. The objectives of this study were to determine attitude of SSs towards mental illness and its associated factors. A cross-sectional study design employing stratified random sampling was applied to select a sample of 402 students. Data was obtained using a self-administered Belief towards Mental Illness (BMI) questionnaire. Independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to determine possible differences in scores of attitude. From a total of 21 BMI scale items, positive attitudes were found in eight items and negative attitudes were found in the remaining thirteen. The mean score of the full BMI scale was 2.47 (95% CI: 2.41, 2.54). The mean (95% CI) scores of dangerousness, poor social relations and incurability, and shame subscales were 2.68 (2.60, 2.76), 2.55 (2.48, 2.62), and 1.22 (1.09, 1.34), respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between attitude scores and the average mark of students (r = -0.257, p<0.0001). Moreover, significant differences in attitude scores were observed between students with a relative of mental illness and those without such a relative (p=0.004). There was an increasing trend of positive attitudes with increased educational level among 9th, 10th, and 11th graders (p-trend<0.0001) and with an increase in the educational level of the students father (p-trend=0.028). However, no significant difference in attitude score was found across categories of sex, religion, living condition of father, presence of a mentally ill neighbor, educational level of mother, or ethnicity. In conclusion, considerable numbers of SSs have negative attitudes towards mental illness. Implementation of programs that enhance positive attitudes towards mentally ill individuals is recommended.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (22) ◽  
pp. 1746-1751
Author(s):  
Ganga Raju Godasi ◽  
Raj Kiran Donthu ◽  
Abdul Salaam Mohammed ◽  
Ravi Shankar Pasam ◽  
Raja Anirudh Yalamanchili

BACKGROUND Mental and behavioural disorders are prevalent in all societies. The stigma and poor attitude towards mental illness and those with mental illness is well known. Similarly, there also exists poor opinions about psychiatrists and psychiatric medications among people. Non psychiatric doctors act as a bridge between the psychiatrists and mentally ill people. This study was conducted to evaluate the attitudes of non-psychiatric doctors towards psychiatrists, psychiatric medications, and mental illness. METHODS The study design was cross sectional, conducted in a town of Andhra Pradesh. A structured proforma was used to capture the sociodemographic details and to measure attitudes towards psychiatrists and psychiatric medications. We used a questionnaire used by Zieger et al. Similarly, to measure the attitudes towards mental illness, belief towards mental illness (BTMI) used by Hirai and Clum was used. The data was analysed using R language, and results obtained were tabulated and discussed. Data was analysed using non parametric tests. RESULTS There were no significant negative attitudes of non-psychiatrists towards psychiatrists and mental illness. But we found significant negative attitudes expressed by medical specialists (P = 0.035) and those in academic settings (P = 0.020) towards psychiatric medications. On comparing the other demographic details there were no significant negative attitudes towards psychiatric medications. CONCLUSIONS Previous studies have found negative attitudes among non-psychiatrists towards psychiatry, psychiatrists and mental illness. But our study found that there are positive attitudes expressed by non-psychiatric doctors towards psychiatrists and mental illness which is a good sign. We believe this is a changing trend towards positive side when compared to past studies. Future studies should be longitudinal and to keep in focus the new curriculum changes. KEYWORDS Attitudes of Health Personnel, Psychiatry, Mental Disorders


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Nurul ISLAM

Studies on academic achievement worldwide are sporadic, focusing on variables more or less have been taken by the researchers, and provided knowledge. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine how the school effect influences secondary school students' academic achievements by two important significant (study habits and self-esteem). With a covenient sampling method, 400 students from eight secondary schools in Bangladesh were selected for the study. Though the students were equally divided regarding gender (Boys, 200; Girls, 200), they were different regarding school types (Public, 188; Private, 212). Their ages range from 14 to 17, with an average of 14.8. They provided responses on two Bangla version scales: Study Habit Scale and Self-Esteem Scale. Academic achievement was significantly positively correlated with both study habits (r=.268, p<.01) and self-esteem (r=.291,p<.01). Two predictors of the study were also correlated with each other (r=.283, p<.01). Public and private school students were not varied significantly in studying habits and academic achievement, but they were significantly different in self-esteem. The study habits and self-esteem jointly explained 12.3% for public school students' academic achievement whileit explained 7.5% variance for the private school students. The discussion implies that how students’ study habits and self-esteem facilitates their academic achievement.Further studies will reflect more factors influencing academic achievement.


Author(s):  
Zaitul Akmal AZ ◽  
Salmah N ◽  
ND Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Akmal MN ◽  
Khairatul Nainey K

Introduction: In Malaysia, the rate of adolescents involved in sexual activities has increased and starts at an earlier age. Data from NHMS 2017 showed that 7.3% among surveyed 13 to 17 years-old adolescents have already had sex. The rate of teenage pregnancies is also increasing at 3.7-3.9% between the years 2009 until 2011. Therefore, an effective SRH Programme should be conducted in schools to equip them with adequate knowledge regarding this subject.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 145 randomly selected secondary school students aged 13 to 15 years old, attending the SRH Programme in a secondary school in Cheras, Selangor, Malaysia. The objective of this programme is to deliver knowledge and promote awareness among adolescents regarding SRH. The programme consists of intervention using adolescent-friendly module and games. A pre- and post-test were given to the participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme using the validated SRH questionnaire (Malay version). The questionnaire consists of fourteen and six items for knowledge and attitude, respectively.Results: The result showed an increase in the mean knowledge score (±SD) after the SRH Programme at the school from 7.25 ± 2.44 for pre-test to 9.70 ± 3.17 for post-test. The mean difference in pre- and post-test was 2.45 (95% CI: 2.02, 2.87) and was statistically significant (p<0.001). In terms of attitudes, the majority of the students felt that they have enough knowledge to make a gooddecision regarding sexual reproductive health issues after the SRH programme. However, there was only a small increment with regards to their attitudes on assertiveness.Conclusion: This study demonstrated an increase in the level of knowledge among adolescents in Cheras after the SRH programme using the adolescent-friendly module and games. However, there is no significant change in attitude among adolescents regarding SRH.Future SRH programmes need to be done regularly to instil positive attitudes among adolescents in dealing withsexual reproductive dilemmas.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2021 Page: S20


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Riva ◽  
Lynne Allen-Taylor ◽  
Will D. Schupmann ◽  
Seipone Mphele ◽  
Neo Moshashane ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. V. Watle ◽  
D. A. Caugant ◽  
G. Tunheim ◽  
T. Bekkevold ◽  
I. Laake ◽  
...  

Abstract Teenagers have a higher risk of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) than the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterise strains of Neisseria meningitidis circulating among Norwegian teenagers and to assess risk factors for meningococcal carriage. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from secondary-school students in southeastern Norway in 2018–2019. Meningococcal isolates were characterised using whole genome sequencing. Risk factors for meningococcal carriage were assessed from questionnaire data. Samples were obtained from 2296 12–24-year-olds (majority 13–19-year-olds). N. meningitidis was identified in 167 (7.3%) individuals. The highest carriage rate was found among 18-year-olds (16.4%). Most carriage isolates were capsule null (40.1%) or genogroup Y (33.5%). Clonal complexes cc23 (35.9%) and cc198 (32.3%) dominated and 38.9% of carriage strains were similar to invasive strains currently causing IMD in Norway. Use of Swedish snus (smokeless tobacco) (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.07–2.27), kissing >two persons/month (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.49–5.10) and partying >10 times/3months (OR 3.50, 95% CI 1.45–8.48) were associated with carriage, while age, cigarette smoking, sharing of drinking bottles and meningococcal vaccination were not. The high meningococcal carriage rate among 18-year-olds is probably due to risk-related behaviour. Use of Swedish snus is possibly a new risk factor for meningococcal carriage. Almost 40% of circulating carriage strains have invasive potential.


2020 ◽  
pp. 105984052093334
Author(s):  
Hulya Ciloglu ◽  
Medine Yilmaz

This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the self-perception of primary school students aged 10–14 and their attitudes toward obese children ( n = 693). There was a weak, positive, and highly significant correlation between the mean scores for the overall Attitude Toward Obese Children Scale, the Self-Perception Profile for Children Scale, and the Acceptance of Obese Peers subscale ( p = .000). There was a weak, positive, and highly significant correlation between all the subscales except for the Rejection of Obese Peer and Social Acceptance and Athletic Competence subscales ( p < .01). Self-perception in adolescence is effective throughout life in terms of community mental health. Therefore, it is of great importance to carry out education and awareness-raising studies in schools to gain students positive attitudes and behavior toward individuals with different characteristics.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document