Stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness among caregivers of patients with mental disorders in China

Summary & key facts

This study surveyed 607 caregivers of people with mental disorders in Changsha, China, using short stories (vignettes) about schizophrenia, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Caregivers usually expected positive outcomes, but many still held stigmatizing views and wanted social distance, especially for schizophrenia. The authors say more work is needed to improve caregivers’ knowledge and to reduce stigma.

Key facts:

• The study included 607 caregivers who completed the survey out of 645 questionnaires delivered (response rate 94.1%).
• The survey used vignettes for schizophrenia, depression, and GAD and was done in one hospital in Changsha, China, from January to December 2014.
• Across the three vignettes, caregivers agreed more with statements about positive outcomes than negative outcomes.
• The two most commonly endorsed stigma statements were “the person could snap out of the problem” and “people with this problem are dangerous.”
• Caregivers were more likely to say the person in the GAD vignette would be seen by others as “not a real medical illness” compared with the schizophrenia vignette.
• Endorsement of unpredictability differed by disorder: 57.2% for schizophrenia, 45.5% for depression, and 45.6% for GAD; the rate for schizophrenia was significantly higher than for the other two.
• Caregivers reported greater personal avoidance of the person in the depression vignette than in the GAD vignette.
• Caregivers were most unwilling to let the person in the vignettes marry into their family, and this unwillingness was highest for the schizophrenia vignette.
• The study is cross-sectional, used convenience sampling at a single hospital, and relied on vignettes; these features limit how much the results can be generalized to all caregivers in China.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate stigmatizing attitudes towards depression, schizophrenia, and general anxiety disorder (GAD) among caregivers of p...

Topics

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Family Caregiving in Mental Illness Mental Health Treatment and Access

Categories

Psychology Social Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Anxiety Clinical psychology Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Depression (economics) Disease Economics Family medicine Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Infectious disease (medical specialty) Macroeconomics Medicine Mental health Mental illness Pathology Psychiatry Psychology Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming) Social distance Social psychology Social stigma Stigma (botany) Vignette