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

Summary & key facts

Researchers in China asked about 600 family caregivers to read short stories describing someone with schizophrenia, depression, or generalized anxiety and then say what they thought. Many caregivers expected the person would get better, but they also held common negative beliefs. The top two were that the person could “snap out of it” and that people with the problem are dangerous. Caregivers were especially likely to keep their distance and were least willing to let the person marry into their family, especially for schizophrenia. The study suggests caregivers need better information about mental health, but the results come from one hospital and may not apply to all caregivers in China.

Key facts:

• About 600 caregivers at one hospital in Changsha, China completed the survey after reading short stories that matched standard clinical descriptions of schizophrenia, depression, or generalized anxiety disorder.
• Overall, caregivers said positive outcomes were more likely than negative ones, so many expected the person could improve.
• The two most common stigmatizing beliefs were that the person could “snap out of the problem” and that people with the problem are dangerous.
• Around 57% of caregivers said the person with schizophrenia seemed unpredictable, while about 46% said the same for the depression and anxiety stories.
• Caregivers were more likely to avoid the person described in the depression story than the anxiety story.
• Caregivers were least willing to let the person in the stories marry into their family, and this unwillingness was strongest for the schizophrenia story.
• For the anxiety story, caregivers were more likely to say that most people think the problem is not a real medical illness compared with the schizophrenia story.
• The study had a high response rate, with about 94% of the delivered questionnaires completed, but it used a single convenience sample from one hospital, which limits how widely the results can be applied.

Abstract

Despite the stigma and desire for social distance associated with schizophrenia, depression, and GAD, caregivers often expect positive outcomes. Actions should be taken to improve caregivers' knowledge about mental health and reduce the stigma.

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

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression Anxiety or worry Lack of energy or motivation Sadness or low mood