Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitude Toward Mental Health Disorders and Their Treatment Among Students in an Indonesian University

The majority of respondents had experienced a mental health problem of some kind (63%), with depression being the most common, followed by anxiety and seasonal affective disorder (see Figure 1). In other words, when asked what they understand by ‘mental health problems’, if pre-set responses were provided, people might have considered all options as plausible and ticked them all. As part of the Wellcome GB Monitor, participants were asked a number of questions to gauge what they think the aims of mental health research are, what researchers within the field do, and finally what they understand by the term ‘mental health problem’. As a result, mental health problems are increasingly recognised as an important public health concern. Regardless of the cause, globally, slightly more than 1 in 10 people have lived with a mental health condition (Richie & Roser, 2018), and there is evidence that this number is rising (Richter et al., 2019), with research showing that this has been accelerated by coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic (Nochaiwong et al., 2021). In recent years, an increasing number of people have reported experiencing a mental health problem of some kind (Häfner, 1985; Kessler et al., 2005; Klerman & Weissman, 1989; Ngui et al., 2010; Richter et al., 2019).

How Do We Measure Cultural Predispositions Thought to Reflect Stigma?

For instance, anxiety can cause difficulty falling asleep, while depression may lead to early waking or excessive sleep. Genetic counseling can also provide insights into risk factors and guide decisions regarding treatment options. The field of epigenetics explores how environmental factors https://www.enterprisemagazine.se/nyheter/artikel/casinon-utan-spelpaus–ett-val-i-den-moderna-fotbollskulturen can affect gene expression without altering the DNA sequence itself. Family history not only reflects genetic predispositions but also encompasses shared environmental factors. This implies that genetics account for a substantial portion of the risk of developing these disorders. For instance, studies estimate the heritability of conditions such as schizophrenia to be approximately 80%, while MDD has a heritability estimate of approximately 37% .

Items in the BMI are added to a sum score with higher scores indicating more negative stereotypes against mental illness. To assess stereotypes about mental illness on an individual level, we used the 21 items of the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale BMI; 10. If participants answered the initial item affirmative, we further asked for type, frequency, and perceived helpfulness of the received treatment. To estimate the familiarity with mental illness as an important control variable , we asked for previous contact with mentally ill persons on a five-point Likert-scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). We asked with single items for age, gender, education, and familiarity with mental illness.

The Present Study

Attitudes to mental health are the foundation on which improvements are made. Unless better systems are introduced as a matter of urgency, we risk losing a generation to poor mental health. “Our children and young people are in clear need of greater support. More than one in 10 people would not want to live next door to someone who has been mentally ill, even if they have recovered – the highest proportion in 15 years. Using data from 1,563 respondents who took part in the 2024 wave of the Attitudes to Mental Illness survey, the research shows that stigma worsened significantly between 2023 and 2024. The research, led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, was conducted on behalf of leading mental health charity Mind and released as part of the charity’s annual Big Mental Health Report.

1. Experiences with Mental Illness

Of the studies assessing campaign awareness, around a third (7/19, 37%) measured this outcome at several points throughout the duration of the campaigns. Only 5 of 19 (26%) studies including this measure reported campaign awareness above 50% at any given time 38,42,44,46,52. Campaign awareness was measured using surveys after campaigns by almost three-quarters (19/26, 73%) of the studies.

• Low scores on the AMI composite score correspond to negative attitudes, and high scores correspond to positive attitudes.
• Our third and final main hypothesis is that the effect of need on the utilization of mental health services depends on the extent of societal stigma (H3).
• It has been argued that psychiatry as a discipline enjoys low esteem among the public, and a “crisis” of psychiatry has been noted.
• The second set of logistic regressions examined whether students’ mental health attitudes (assessed via the AMI) and their endorsement of Latinx values (assessed via the LVS) predicted the likelihood of their perceived treatment need and help-seeking behavior.
• Participants who were younger, men, and who scored lower on functional and communicative HL reported higher aversion toward MH help-seeking.
• To the extent that as per traditional family values honor plays a major role (especially in Arab societies) , mental health issues are more likely to be perceived as threatening the integrity of the family, given that mental health stigma affects the reputation of the family involved.

Why would understanding differences in attitudes by sociodemographic subgroups be important? In general medical settings, a person may have sought care initially for a medical reason, requiring no prerequisite attitude. For African Americans and Latinos, mistrust of health care professionals and/or concerns about provider competence with their ethnic/racial group may decrease their comfort talking to professionals 24–26. Our analyses suggest both the importance of understanding demographic differences in relevant attitudes and potential directions for marketing campaigns. However, for specialty care the association was much stronger for men compared to women.