Explanatory Models of Depression in a Rural Community of Coastal Karnataka, India: A Cross-Sectional Survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 025371762110510
Author(s):  
Sameeksha Hegde ◽  
Ravichandra Karkal

Background: Depression is a major public health problem but there is a huge treatment gap in India. Cultural beliefs influence conception of illness, personal meaning, help-seeking behaviors, and adherence to treatment. Research on explanatory models of depression attempt to explore these unique characteristics in an individual and the community. We set out to examine explanatory models of depression in a rural community of coastal Karnataka and explore the association between sociodemographic variables and explanatory models of depression. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey in the rural community of Harekala village, Mangaluru taluk, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, was done using Kish tables. A total of 200 individuals were interviewed with an adaptation of the Short Explanatory Model Interview in a local language using a case vignette of depression. Results: Around 40% of the individuals perceived the problem as tension/stress/excessive worrying and did not perceive it as mental illness. A scant 10% of the participants recognized some mental illness. Around one-fifth of the individuals attributed the problem to evil spirits and black magic; female participants were more likely to endorse consulting a doctor (P = 0.003**) or a psychiatrist (P = 0.012*). In addition, participants belonging to Islam were less likely to consult a doctor (P = 0.028*) and psychiatrist (P = 0.021*). Also, participants belonging to lower social class were less likely to endorse psychiatric consultation (P = 0.018*) Conclusions: A vast majority of the study subjects failed to identify depression as an illness or acknowledge biomedical causation. Gender, religion, and socioeconomic class may influence help-seeking behavior.

Author(s):  
Alaa Mahsoon ◽  
Loujain Sharif ◽  
Maram Banakhar ◽  
Nofaa Alasmee ◽  
Esraa Almowallad ◽  
...  

Mental illness is not uncommon among young adults, but negative attitudes towards mental disorders and lack of parental support might be associated with hesitancy in seeking professional help. This study aimed to examine the relationships of parental support, beliefs about mental illness, and mental help-seeking among young adults in Saudi Arabia. This quantitative cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 236 young adults (ages 18–25) with the majority of the total (86.4%) being female. Data were collected via three self-administered questionnaires: The Perceived Parental Support Scale, Beliefs toward Mental Illness scale, and Mental Help Seeking Attitude Scale. Results indicated that the participants had a moderately negative attitude toward mental illness, a moderately positive attitude toward parental support, and a highly positive attitude toward mental help-seeking. No significant relationships were found among the study variables. The study highlights that despite young adults’ positive attitude toward mental help-seeking and parental support, they have negative views toward people with mental illnesses. Educational programs in schools and media are needed to improve attitudes and enhance readiness to interact with people with mental illness.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-363
Author(s):  
Denise M. Saint Arnault ◽  
Moonhee Gang ◽  
Seoyoon Woo

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (BMI) across women from the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed. The sample was 564 women aged 21–64 years old who were recruited in the United States and Korea (American = 127, Japanese immigrants in the United States = 204, and Korean = 233). We carried out item analysis, construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and internal consistency using SPSS Version 22 and AMOS Version 22. Results: An acceptable model fit for a 20-item BMI (Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale–Revised [BMI-R]) with 3 factors was confirmed using CFA. Construct validity of the BMI-R showed to be all acceptable; convergent validity (average variance extracted [AVE] ≥0.5, construct reliability [CR] ≥0.7) and discriminant validity (r = .65–.89, AVE >.79). The Cronbach’s alpha of the BMI-R was .92. Conclusion: These results showed that the BMI was a reliable tool to study beliefs about mental illness across cultures. Our findings also suggested that continued efforts to reduce stigma in culturally specific contexts within and between countries are necessary to promote help-seeking for those suffering from psychological distress.


Author(s):  
Hossein Ebrahimi ◽  
Mohammad Reza Movaghari ◽  
Milad Bazghaleh ◽  
Nasim Shirmohammadi ◽  
Reza Mohammadpourhodki

Abstract Background The purpose of the study was to assess parent’s attitudes toward mental illness in children and its relationship with help seeking behaviors. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in a pediatric psychiatric clinic of under affiliation of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2016–2017. All children’s parents or guardians who referred for the first time to the clinics were the study population. Convenient sampling was applied and 400 subjects were included by survey method. The data collection tool for this study included a form for demographic data, a questionnaire for assessing parents’ attitude toward the causes, behavioral demonstrations and treatment of mental disorders in children, and finally a checklist to determine help seeking behaviors. Descriptive and inferential statistics was applied with SPSS software version 16 for data analysis. Results Of the parents, 93.7% had a good attitude toward mental illness in the three studied realms. Of the parents, 56.25% referred to official sources of help. The results of this research showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of parents’ attitude (sum of the three areas) in terms of child’s gender, parents’ marital status, father’s job, father’s education, and mother’s education and there was a significant relationship between help seeking behavior of parents just with fathers’ education level (p<0.05). Conclusions The results showed that parents had a good attitude toward their children’s mental disorders. However, it should not be overlooked that nearly half of the parents were still referring to unofficial sources of assistance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-30
Author(s):  
R. Amatya ◽  
P. Chakrabortty ◽  
J.B. Khattri ◽  
P. Thapa ◽  
K. Ramesh

Introduction: Stigma is a sign of disgrace or discredit that sets a person apart from others. Stigma has detrimental effect on stigmatized persons’ life which may even hamper or delay the help seeking behavior, which ultimately increases the duration of untreated mental illness. Material And Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted among 90 psychiatry outpatients attending Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. Discrimination and disclosure sub-scale of the Stigma scale and ISMI- 10 was administered to measure the extent of stigma. Help seeking delay was assessed using pre- structured questionnaire. Prediction of help seeking delay due to stigma was identified using logistic regression. Results: Low mean value on the subscales of the Stigma scale indicated low public stigma in the participants. 34% of the study population exhibited moderate to high self stigma. The full model for initial help seeking delay using logistic regression explained 21.8% (Cox and Snell R square) and 31.5% (Nagelkerke R square) of the variance in initial help seeking delay while the model for the recent help seeking delay explained 13.6% (Cox and Snell R square) and 20.8 % (Nagelkerke R square) of the variance in recent help seeking delay. The strongest predictor of both initial and recent help seeking delay was discrimination subscale (OR= 1.11; 95% CI= 1.033- 1.195). Conclusion: Discrimination experienced due to stigmatization leads to delay in help seeking behavior. Public stigma experienced by stigmatized individual acts as a stronger predictor for help seeking delay than self stigma.


2015 ◽  
Vol 207 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hind Khalifeh ◽  
Sian Oram ◽  
Kylee Trevillion ◽  
Sonia Johnson ◽  
Louise M. Howard

BackgroundPeople with mental illness are at increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimisation, but little is known about their risk for different forms of IPV, related health impact and help-seeking.AimsTo estimate the odds for past-year IPV, related impact and disclosure among people with and without pre-existing chronic mental illness (CMI).MethodWe analysed data from 23 222 adult participants in the 2010/2011 British Crime Survey using multivariate logistic regression.ResultsPast-year IPV was reported by 21% and 10% of women and men with CMI, respectively. The adjusted relative odds for emotional, physical and sexual IPV among women with versus without CMI were 2.8 (CI = 1.9–4.0), 2.6 (CI = 1.6–4.3) and 5.4 (CI = 2.4–11.9), respectively. People with CMI were more likely to attempt suicide as result of IPV (aOR = 5.4, CI = 2.3–12.9), less likely to seek help from informal networks (aOR = 0.5, CI = 0.3–0.8) and more likely to seek help exclusively from health professionals (aOR = 6.9, CI = 2.6–18.3)ConclusionsPeople with CMI are not only at increased risk of all forms of IPV, but they are more likely to suffer subsequent ill health and to disclose exclusively to health professionals. Therefore, health professionals play a key role in addressing IPV in this population.


Author(s):  
Walaa Badawy Mohamed Badawy

purpose: Epilepsy is a major public health problem worldwide. The aim of this study was to explore the level of awareness, knowledge regarding epilepsy and attitudes prevalent toward epilepsy among king Khalid university students. Methods: The descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with the voluntary participation of 227 participants from students at King Khalid University. The mean age of participating was (20.10 ± 1.3). Theoretical and practical colleges used questionnaires to assess students' knowledge about epilepsy and their attitudes towards it. Results: A total of 227 respondents completed the survey; the results showed almost all had heard about epilepsy. Only 83.7% have never had any information on how to treat a patient with epilepsy. 80.6% think non-medical treatment is beneficial for epilepsy %13.2% do not know how to do first aid to deal with epileptic seizures. Almost 32.6% did not know the cause of epilepsy, 59% believed that it was a hereditary disorder 44.1% believed epilepsy is a form of mental illness, 57.3% believed that epilepsy patients die because of epileptic seizures. 59% believed that it was a hereditary disorder 44.1% believed epilepsy is a form of mental illness, 11% of participants thought that epilepsy is caused by evil spirits, 57.3% believed that epilepsy patients die because of epileptic seizures. There were also many students who held negative attitudes towards patients with epilepsy in regard to major life milestones such as marriage and having children. 16.7% indicated that it presents an impediment in participation in sports, approximately 6.2% objected to marrying someone with epilepsy, Moreover 11.5% thought they should not have children and, the study showed 46,3% would not allow their child to play with a child with epilepsy. Moreover 14.5 afraid to live with someone with epilepsy. the study showed 6,6 % objected accept working with a patient with epilepsy. Conclusions: The level of awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of students at King Khalid toward epilepsy were acceptable regarding this study. However, the negative attitudes and misconceptions still exist. Further studies are needed to determine methods of overcoming these negative attitudes and misconceptions toward epilepsy.


Author(s):  
Priti Lata Mondal ◽  
Jayanta Sadhu ◽  
Abdul Karim ◽  
Beauty Begum

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, making it a major public health problem in Bangladesh also. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Joykhali village, Batiaghata upazilla in Khulna district from January to December 2019 to assess the level of knowledge regarding lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors in rural community. A total of 288 people were selected from each house by conveniently. Data were collected by using pre tested semi-structured questionnaire with face-to-face interview. Out of the 288 respondents, 43 (14.9%) had good knowledge while others had average (n=211, 73.3%) and poor (n=34, 11.8%) knowledge regarding risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Only 25 (8.7%) respondents had good knowledge while others had average (n=190, 66.0%) and poor (n=73, 25.3%) knowledge regarding sign and symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Majority of the respondents (61.1%) had good knowledge while others had average (n=105, 36.5%) and poor (n=7, 2.4%) knowledge regarding prevention of cardiovascular disease. There is an apparent need to establish more wide-spread and effective educational intervention, which should be sensitive to the abilities of targeted individuals.


1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1231-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. LLOYD ◽  
K. S. JACOB ◽  
V. PATEL ◽  
L. St. LOUIS ◽  
D. BHUGRA ◽  
...  

Background. Recent anthropological studies have documented the importance of understanding the relation of culture to the experience of mental illness. The use of interviews that elicit explanatory models has facilitated such research, but currently available interviews are lengthy and impractical for epidemiological studies. This paper is a preliminary report on the development of a brief instrument to elicit explanatory models for use in field work.Method. The development of the SEMI, a short interview to elicit explanatory models is described. The interview explores the subject's cultural background, nature of presenting problem, help-seeking behaviour, interaction with physician/healer and beliefs related to mental illness.Results. The SEMI was employed to study the explanatory models of subjects with common mental disorders among Whites, African-Caribbean and Asians living in London and was also used in Harare, Zimbabwe. Data from its use in four different ethnic groups is presented with the aim of demonstrating its capacity to show up differences in these varied settings.Conclusions. The simplicity and brevity of the SEMI allow for its use in field studies in different cultures, data can be used to provide variables for use in quantitative analysis and provide qualitative descriptions.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e033928
Author(s):  
Senait Teshager ◽  
Habtamu Kerebih ◽  
Hailemariam Hailesilassie ◽  
Mubarek Abera

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess pathways to psychiatric care and factors associated with delayed help-seeking among patients with mental illness in Northern Ethiopia using the WHO Pathway Study Encounter Form.DesignA cross-sectional study design was used.SettingData were collected using face-to-face interview from patients with various diagnoses of mental illness attending outpatient treatment at Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Mekelle City, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.ParticipantsParticipants who came to attend outpatient treatment during the study period were included in the study using consecutive sampling technique.Outcome measuresPathways to psychiatric care, delayed psychiatric treatment and factors affecting delayed psychiatric treatment.ResultsThe median duration from problem onset to contact with first care provider was 4 weeks, whereas contact with modern psychiatric services was 52.0 weeks. Study participants who were single (adjusted OR (AOR)=2.91, 95% CI 1.19 to 7.11), divorced (AOR=3.73, 95% CI 1.33 to 10.49) and who perceived mental illness as shameful (AOR=3.29, 95% CI 1.15 to 9.41) had delayed treatment-seeking behaviour, whereas participants with no history of substance use (AOR=0.43, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.92) were less likely to have delayed treatment-seeking behaviour.ConclusionsThere is significant delay in seeking modern psychiatric treatment. Religious healers were the first source of help for mental illness. Majority of the respondents described that mental illness was due to supernatural causes. Stigma and lack of awareness about where treatment is available were barriers to seeking appropriate care.


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