Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T23:30:06.420Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mental health literacy and attitude towards people with mental illness: A trend analysis based on population surveys in the eastern part of Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

M.C. Angermeyer ,
A. Holzinger  and
H. Matschinger
M.C. Angermeyer*
Affiliation:
Center for Public Mental Health, Untere Zeile 13, A-3482Gösing a.W., Austria
A. Holzinger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Medical University Vienna, Austria
H. Matschinger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Leipzig University, Germany
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +43 2738 20036. E-mail address: angermeyer@aon.at
Get access

Abstract

Background

There is growing evidence that mental health literacy has improved in western countries in recent years. The question arises as to whether this trend is paralleled by an improvement of attitudes towards people with mental illness.

Aim

To examine the development of mental health literacy and the desire for social distance towards people with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder in Eastern Germany over a time period of eight years.

Method

A trend analysis was carried out using data from two population surveys conducted in the eastern part of Germany in 1993 and 2001. By means of a fully structured interview psychiatric labelling, causal beliefs, help-seeking and treatment recommendations as well as the desire for social distance was assessed.

Results

While there was an increase in the mental health literacy of the public, the desire for social distance from people with major depression and schizophrenia remained unchanged or even increased.

Conclusions

The assumption underlying a number of anti-stigma campaigns, namely that educating people about mental disorders may automatically lead to the improvement of their attitudes towards the mentally ill, appears questionable.

Keywords

Public beliefsSocial distanceTime trendsMajor depressive disorderSchizophrenia
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , May 2009 , pp. 225 - 232
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-III-R) Washington DCAPA 1987Google Scholar
Angermeyer, M.C., Kühn, L.Der Psychoboom auf dem deutschen Buchmarkt. Österr Z Soziol 1985;10:250–259Google Scholar
Angermeyer, M.C., Matschinger, H.Causal beliefs and attitudes to people with schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 2005;186:331–334CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Angermeyer, M.C., Matschinger, H.Have there been any changes in the public's attitudes towards psychiatric treatment? Results from representative populations surveys in Germany in the years 1990 and 2001. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2005;111:68–73CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Angermeyer, M.C., Matschinger, H., Corrigan, P.W.Familiarity with mental illness and social distance from people with schizophrenia and major depression: testing a model using data from a representative population survey. Schizophr Res 2004;69:175–182CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Psychiatrie der obersten Landesgesundheitsbehörden: Bestandsaufnahme zu den Entwicklungen der Psychiatrie in den letzten 25 Jahren. Chemnitz; 2003.Google Scholar
Bogardus, E.S.Measuring social distances. J Appl Sociol 1925;9:299–308Google Scholar
Crisp, A., Cowan, L., Hart, D.The college's anti-stigma campaign, 1998–2003. Psychiatry Bull 2004;28:133–136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietrich, S., Beck, M., Bujantugs, B., Kenzine, D., Matschinger, H., Angermeyer, M.C.The relationship between public causal beliefs and social distance to mentally ill people. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2004;38:348–354CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dietrich, S., Matschinger, H., Angermeyer, M.C.The relationship between biogenetic causal explanations and social distance toward people with mental disorders. Results from a population survey in Germany. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2006;52:166–174CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gabler, S., Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, J.H.P.Stichproben in der Umfragenpraxis OpladenWestdeutscher Verlag 1997CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldney, R.D., Fisher, L.J., Dal Grande, E., Taylor, A.W.Changes in mental health literacy about depression: South Australia, 1998 to 2004. Med J Aust 2005;183:134–137CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grausgruber, A., Meise, U., Katschnig, H., Schöny, W., Fleischhacker, W.W.Patterns of social distance towards people suffering from schizophrenia in Austria: a comparison between the general public, relatives and mental health staff. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2007;115:310–319CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holzinger, A., Dietrich, S., Heitmann, S., Angermeyer, M.C.Evaluation zielgruppenorientierter Antistigma-Interventionen. Eine systematische Übersicht. Psychiatr Prax 2008 [Epub ahead of print]Google Scholar
Jorm, A.F., Christensen, H., Griffiths, K.M.Public beliefs about causes and risk factors for mental disorders. Changes in Australia over 8 years. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2005;40:764–767CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jorm, A.F., Christensen, H., Griffiths, K.M.The public's ability to recognize mental disorders and their beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 8 years. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2006;40:36–41CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lauber, C., Nordt, C., Falcato, L., Rössler, W.Factors influencing social distance toward people with mental illness. Community Ment Health J 2004;40:265–274CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lauria-Horner, B.A., Kutcher, S., Brooks, S.The feasibility of a mental health curriculum in elementary school. Can J Psychiatry 2004;49:208–211CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Link, B.G., Cullen, F.T., Frank, J., Wozniak, J.F.The social rejection of former mental patients: understanding why labels matter. Am J Sociol 1987;92:1461–1500CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, J.K., Pescosolido, B.A., Olafsdottir, S., McLeod, J.D.The construction of fear: Americans' preferences for social distance from children and adolescents with mental health problems. J Health Soc Behav 2007;48:50–67CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mojtabai, R.Americans' attitudes toward mental health treatment seeking: 1990-2003. Psychiatr Serv 2007;58:642–651CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinfold, V., Huxley, P., Thornicroft, G., Farmer, P., Toulmin, H., Graham, T.Reducing psychiatric stigma and discrimination. Evaluating an educational intervention with the police force in England. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2003;38:337–344CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinfold, V., Toulmin, H., Thornicroft, G., Huxley, P., Farmer, P., Graham, T.Reducing psychiatric stigma and discrimination: evaluation of educational interventions in UK secondary schools. Br J Psychiatry 2003;182:342–346CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Read, J.Why promoting biological ideology increases prejudice against people labeled schizophrenic. Aust Psychol 2007;42:118–128CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Read, J., Haslam, N., Sayce, L., Davies, E.Prejudice and schizophrenia: a review of the ‘mental illness is an illness like any other’ approach. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2006;114:303–318CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sartorius, N.Stigma and discrimination because of schizophrenia: a summary of the WPA global programme against stigma and discrimination because of schizophrenia. World Psychiatry 2005;4:11–15Google Scholar
Sartorius, N., Kuyken, W.Translation of health status instrumentsOrley, J., Kuyken, W.Quality of life assessment: international perspectives BerlinSpringer 1994Google Scholar
Stata, Stata statistical software: release 8.0 College Station TXStata Corporation 2003Google Scholar
Wang, J., Lai, D.The relationship between mental health literacy, personal contacts and personal stigma against depression. J Affect Disord 2008 [Epub ahead of print]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.