Factors influencing adolescents stigmatising attitudes and perception of community reaction towards mental illness in Nigeria
Joint Authors
Akinbodewa, Olorunfemi
Tolulope
Source
Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences
Issue
Vol. 12, Issue 4 (31 Dec. 2017), pp.240-252, 13 p.
Publisher
Omdurman Islamic University Faculty of Medicine
Publication Date
2017-12-31
Country of Publication
Sudan
No. of Pages
13
Main Subjects
Social Sciences (Multidisciplinary)
Abstract EN
Background: Stigma is one of the major distresses that are experienced by people with mental illness.
Stigmatisation results in a reduction in quality of life of those affected.
Objective : The objective of this study was to assess the stigmatising attitudes of adolescents towards individuals with mental illness, their perception of community reaction and factors influencing it in Nigeria.
Method : In school Adolescents (N = 402) participated in the research.
They completed self-administered questionnaires regarding socio-demographic details and questions based on a vignette of a young person with a mental disorder using the Standardized Stigmatisation Questionnaire (SSQ1).
The study was cross-sectional in nature and employed a multistage sampling technique.
Result: The mean age was 14.44years (SD=1.84).There were 265 (65.9%) males and 137(34.1%) females.
Approximately seventy percent of the adolescents would not be happy to sit next to a man with mental illness in a bus, 58.2% would not want him to teach their children, and an even higher percentage (72.9%) believe that most people in the community would do same.
Seventy percent are aware that he did not develop his problems to avoid difficult situations of life and 78.2% also know that it’s not a punishment for bad deeds.
Independent predictors of stigma related attitude include age p<0.002, gender p<0.010 and community perception p<0.001.
Conclusion: Stigmatisation of mental illness is highly prevalent among adolescents.
Given that a significant percentage of the participants were well informed, formation of stigmatising attitude towards mental illness might be deeper than lack of knowledge.
There may be a need to work on societal structure despite traditional education interventions and also encourage their contact with mentally ill persons.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Akinbodewa, Olorunfemi& Tolulope. 2017. Factors influencing adolescents stigmatising attitudes and perception of community reaction towards mental illness in Nigeria. Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences،Vol. 12, no. 4, pp.240-252.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-836607
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Akinbodewa, Olorunfemi& Tolulope. Factors influencing adolescents stigmatising attitudes and perception of community reaction towards mental illness in Nigeria. Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 12, no. 4 (2017), pp.240-252.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-836607
American Medical Association (AMA)
Akinbodewa, Olorunfemi& Tolulope. Factors influencing adolescents stigmatising attitudes and perception of community reaction towards mental illness in Nigeria. Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2017. Vol. 12, no. 4, pp.240-252.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-836607
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references : p. 250-252
Record ID
BIM-836607