Personal and Perceived Stigmas in Adolescents toward Peers with Mental Disorders in West Sumatra Indonesia

BACKGROUND: The number of mental disorders in adolescents tends to increase every year in Indonesia. However, the stigma of mental disorders is a crucial factor that makes teens hide their mental health problem. AIM: This study aimed to examine personal and perceived among adolescents towards peers with mental disorders (PMD) and to identify predictors of these constructs. METHODS: This quantitative study with a cross-sectional design recruited 977 adolescents using a cluster random sampling technique. Adolescent stigma was assessed using the Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale (PMHSS). Multivariable general linear models (GLMs) was used for analysis. RESULTS: The study shows that the perceived stigma (M = 36.62, SD = 5,183) tends to be higher than personal stigma (M = 39.49, SD = 5,495). Higher personal stigma was predicted by a lower level of academic (P < 0.01), lower levels of family monthly income (P < 0.01), and higher perceived stigma (P < 0.001). Higher perceived stigma was predicted by younger age (P < 0.05), lower levels of academic (P < 0.05), higher levels of family monthly income (P < 0.05), and higher personal stigma (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The Findings suggest that stigmatization towards PMD is common among adolescents. The development of intervention programs should be directed at reducing negative perceptions of the environment. The identified predictors must also be considered in the development of future anti-stigma programs.

A qualitative study of the stigmatization and coping mechanisms among pregnant teenagers living with HIV in Thailand

PurposeThis aim of this study was to explore the experiences of stigmatization and coping mechanisms during pregnancy among pregnant women who are living with HIV in Thailand. The secondary objective was to determine factors contributing to stigma during motherhood among HIV-infected women as well as explore how they cope with the discrimination from society.Design/methodology/approachQualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews to obtain different versions of stigmatized experience from 16 pregnant women living with HIV on stigmatization and coping mechanisms. There were 5 pregnant adolescents living with HIV and 11 adult pregnant women living with HIV. The content analysis was used to examine patterns of stigmatizations and attributed factors.FindingsPersonal stigma was found among pregnant women living with HIV regardless of age. HIV status disclosure was the crucial barrier of accessing to care for people experiencing stigmatizations. Personal stigma associated with higher HIV status was not disclosed. Interestingly, all teenage mothers who participated in this study disclosed their HIV-status to their family. People who have social support especially from family and significant others are found to be able to cope and get through the difficulties better than those who lack those social support.Originality/valueThis study yields outcomes similar to several other studies that have been conducted either in Thailand or other countries. This study found that family support was crucial in reducing HIV stigma. Furthermore, HIV-infected pregnant female adults were more afraid to disclose their HIV status to their husbands, other family members and their work colleagues.

Personal and Perceived Depression Stigma in Individuals Affected by Depression and Relatives: Results of a Survey among Attendees of a German Depression Congress

Background: Depression stigma is a clinically relevant factor negatively affecting the help-seeking process and depression care. Relatives of individuals suffering from depression play an important role in service utilization and in depression treatment, but little is known about their depression stigma compared to the stigma of individuals affected. Aims: We investigated whether individuals with depression, relatives and individuals being both - affected and relative - differ in depression stigma. Methods: Paper-pencil questionnaire data of 216 study participants from a German depression congress in 2017 were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis tests to investigate subgroup differences and Mann-Whitney-U tests for post-hoc comparisons. Ordinal logistic generalized regression models with the dependent variables being the stigma sum scores and the independent variables “group”, “gender” and “age” were computed. Results: Participants being a relative of an individual with depression, being affected by depression or being both - relative and affected - reported comparable personal and perceived depression stigma. There was a statistical trend for group differences in personal stigma in the total sample, due to significantly lower personal stigma in male participants being affected by depression compared to male participants having a family member affected. Conclusions: Relatives of individuals with depression appear to have similar stigmatizing attitudes as affected individuals themselves. Potential differences in personal stigma in male relatives compared to male patients require further research, since they have implications for anti-stigma activities as well as for depression care.

Mental Illness Stigma and Associated Factors among Arabic-Speaking Religious and Community Leaders

Evidence suggests that Arabic-speaking refugees in Australia seek help from informal sources, including religious and community leaders, when experiencing mental health issues. Despite their significant influence, there is scarce research exploring attitudes of Arabic-speaking leaders toward mental illness. The current exploratory study explored mental illness stigma and various factors among Arabic-speaking religious and community leaders. This study uses a subset of data from an evaluation trial of mental health literacy training for Arabic-speaking religious and community leaders. Our dataset contains the pre-intervention survey responses for 52 Arabic-speaking leaders (69.2% female; mean age = 47.1, SD = 15.3) on the ability to recognise a mental disorder, beliefs about causes for developing mental illness, and two stigma measures, personal stigma, and social distance. Being female was associated with a decrease in personal stigma. An increase in age was associated with an increase in personal stigma. Correct recognition of a mental disorder was associated with decreased personal stigma, and after adjusting for age and gender, significance was retained for the I-would-not-tell-anyone subscale. Endorsing the cause “being a person of weak character” was associated with an increase in personal stigma. There is an urgent need for future research to elucidate stigma to develop effective educational initiatives for stigma reduction among Arabic-speaking leaders.

Utilising a WeChat intervention to improve HIV and AIDS education among college students in China

Objective: To evaluate a WeChat-based HIV and AIDS educational intervention to enhance knowledge, improve attitudes and reduce stigma among college students in China. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: Public research university in China. Method: A total of 111 college students were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Participants in the intervention group received an enhanced HIV and AIDS education course delivered via WeChat for 8 weeks. Independent-samples t-tests were used to analyse changes in HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and stigma. Results: Findings showed that both HIV- and AIDS-related knowledge ( p < .001) and attitudes ( p < .001) significantly changed in the intervention group. The intervention group also demonstrated lower stigma scores on ‘moral judgment’ ( p < .001), ‘personal stigma’ ( p = .01), ‘perceived community stigma’ ( p < .001) and the ‘total stigma scale’ ( p < .001). Conclusion: Results show that college students in China may benefit from a technology-based intervention which could potentially be integrated into routine HIV education for college students.

Young Pacific Male Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Mental Health Help-Seeking in Aotearoa New Zealand

Mental health is a pressing issue among Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly among young Pacific men who have a high incidence of suicide deaths and reduced access to mental health services. Young Pacific men are heavily represented in professional sports, and despite limited empirical evidence, anecdotal evidence suggests that young Pacific male athletes face numerous factors that deter help-seeking behavior. In response, a mixed-methods study was carried out with young Pacific male athletes (n = 123) and key stakeholders (n = 12) to explore athletes’ views and experiences of mental health help-seeking. The results revealed that athletes held low levels of “personal stigma” and were supportive of other athletes seeking help for mental distress, but also held high levels of “perceived stigma” and negative views toward seeking help for their own mental distress. These findings extend the literature and provide tailored strategies to facilitate help-seeking among young Pacific male athletes.

Mental health literacy in Ghana: Implications for religiosity, education and stigmatization

Research on Mental Health Literacy (MHL) has been growing internationally. However, the beliefs and knowledge of Ghanaians about specific mental disorders have yet to be explored. This vignette study was conducted to explore the relationships between religiosity, education, stigmatization and MHL among Ghanaians using a sample of laypeople (N = 409). The adapted questionnaire presented two vignettes (depression and schizophrenia) about a hypothetical person. The results revealed that more participants were able to recognize depression (47.4%) than schizophrenia (15.9%). Religiosity was not significantly associated with recognition of mental disorders but was positively associated with both social and personal stigma for depression, and negatively associated with personal and perceived stigma for schizophrenia. Moreover, education was found to be positively associated with disorder recognition, and negatively with perceived stigma. Finally, perceived stigma was positively associated with disorder recognition, whereas personal stigma for schizophrenia related negatively to recognition of mental disorders. In conclusion, education but not religiosity predicted identification accuracy, but both predictors were associated with various forms of stigma. Findings from this study have implications for MHL and anti-stigma campaigns in Ghana and other developing countries in the region.

Perceptions of stigma toward mental illness in Arab society in Israel

Stigma is a major obstacle for people diagnosed with mental illness and this impacts the burden of the disease. This study compares the relationship between personal and social stigma in patients diagnosed with mental illness in two distinct Arab communities: the Bedouin in the Negev Desert in Israel and the Arabs of East Jerusalem. The sample consisted of 140 participants. Research instruments measuring self-stigma, social stigma, and social support were deployed. Positive correlation between personal and social stigma was found. Personal stigma was higher among Bedouins, while social stigma was higher among East Jerusalem Arabs.

Public Opinion About Adverse Childhood Experiences: Social Stigma, Attribution of Blame, and Government Intervention

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are receiving increasing attention in academic, policy, and media discourses. However, no public opinion research has focused on ACEs. We conducted a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults to address this knowledge gap. A web-based survey was conducted using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel ( N = 503, completion rate = 60.5%) in fall 2019. We found that inter-personal stigma and parental blame related to ACEs were prevalent, with 25.0% of respondents unwilling to have a person with “a lot of ACEs” as a close co-worker and 65.2% believing that parents were very much to blame for the consequences of ACEs. Fifty percent of respondents believed that government intervention to prevent ACEs was very important. After adjustment for demographic characteristics, inter-personal stigma toward people with ACEs and conservative ideology were significantly associated with lower perceived importance of government intervention to prevent ACEs. Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and female gender were significantly associated with higher perceived importance of government intervention. These findings provide an empirical foundation to inform strategies to communicate ACE science to public and policymaker audiences.