Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals
Introduction Attitudes toward people with mental disorders in Arab countries have undergone huge transformations throughout history. Stigmatization of the mentally ill has been a long tradition in our communities. The public’s views have evolved since then, however, little is known about the curren...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-03-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823007459/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797617177028722688 |
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| author | M. Stambouli F. Fekih Romdhane F. Ghrissi A. Jaoua S. Ellini M. Cheour |
| author_facet | M. Stambouli F. Fekih Romdhane F. Ghrissi A. Jaoua S. Ellini M. Cheour |
| author_sort | M. Stambouli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction
Attitudes toward people with mental disorders in Arab countries have undergone huge transformations throughout history. Stigmatization of the mentally ill has been a long tradition in our communities. The public’s views have evolved since then, however, little is known about the current situation regarding mental illness stigma in our context.
Objectives
Explore attitudes towards mental illness and mental health knowledge in Arab countries.
Methods
We carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries.The Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale,the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule scale and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form were administered to participants from the general public.
Results
The study sample was predominantly female (77%), married (41%), educated (89% with tertiary education), living in urban areas (85%), with a mean age of 29.6 ± 10.8 years.
Based on the CAMI, MAKS, and ATSPPH-SF total scores, 75th, 50th, and 25th percentile were considered as cut-off points for the high, medium, and low scores. We found that 26.5% exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illnesses, 31.7% had poor knowledge, and 28.0% hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking. Regarding attitudes toward mental illness, the highest mean score was on the social restrictiveness subscale (35.1 ± 5.6), reflecting the lowest amounts of stigma in this dimension; while the lowest mean score was on the Authoritarianism subscale (32.0 ± 4.6).
We found a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F=194.8, p<.001) and knowledge (F=88.7, p<.001).
Conclusions
Although much scientific progress has been made in the fields of diagnosing and treating mental illness, at a societal level the stigmatization of mental illness is still an important societal problem. The general population is largely ignorant about mental disorders, and fear of the mentally ill remains prevalent.
Disclosure of Interest
None Declared |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:52:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0acc6c3b79184240bc4ecff8a36c51a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:52:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-0acc6c3b79184240bc4ecff8a36c51a52023-11-17T05:06:32ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852023-03-0166S342S34210.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.745Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 IndividualsM. Stambouli0F. Fekih Romdhane1F. Ghrissi2A. Jaoua3S. Ellini4M. Cheour5Psychiatry department E, Razi hospital, Manouba, TunisiaPsychiatry department E, Razi hospital, Manouba, TunisiaPsychiatry department E, Razi hospital, Manouba, TunisiaPsychiatry department E, Razi hospital, Manouba, TunisiaPsychiatry department E, Razi hospital, Manouba, TunisiaPsychiatry department E, Razi hospital, Manouba, Tunisia Introduction Attitudes toward people with mental disorders in Arab countries have undergone huge transformations throughout history. Stigmatization of the mentally ill has been a long tradition in our communities. The public’s views have evolved since then, however, little is known about the current situation regarding mental illness stigma in our context. Objectives Explore attitudes towards mental illness and mental health knowledge in Arab countries. Methods We carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries.The Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale,the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule scale and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form were administered to participants from the general public. Results The study sample was predominantly female (77%), married (41%), educated (89% with tertiary education), living in urban areas (85%), with a mean age of 29.6 ± 10.8 years. Based on the CAMI, MAKS, and ATSPPH-SF total scores, 75th, 50th, and 25th percentile were considered as cut-off points for the high, medium, and low scores. We found that 26.5% exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illnesses, 31.7% had poor knowledge, and 28.0% hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking. Regarding attitudes toward mental illness, the highest mean score was on the social restrictiveness subscale (35.1 ± 5.6), reflecting the lowest amounts of stigma in this dimension; while the lowest mean score was on the Authoritarianism subscale (32.0 ± 4.6). We found a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F=194.8, p<.001) and knowledge (F=88.7, p<.001). Conclusions Although much scientific progress has been made in the fields of diagnosing and treating mental illness, at a societal level the stigmatization of mental illness is still an important societal problem. The general population is largely ignorant about mental disorders, and fear of the mentally ill remains prevalent. Disclosure of Interest None Declaredhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823007459/type/journal_article |
| spellingShingle | M. Stambouli F. Fekih Romdhane F. Ghrissi A. Jaoua S. Ellini M. Cheour Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals European Psychiatry |
| title | Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals |
| title_full | Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals |
| title_fullStr | Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals |
| title_short | Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma : A Multinational Population-Based Study from 16 Arab Countries and 10,036 Individuals |
| title_sort | cross cultural comparison of mental illness stigma a multinational population based study from 16 arab countries and 10 036 individuals |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823007459/type/journal_article |
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