Stigmatization of persons with depression

Abstract

Aim: to explore the valence and the structure of stigmatization towards persons with depressive disorder. Method: The sample encompassed 575 participants, of both sexes, over 16 years old, of various levels of education and of different types of employment. The scale assessment for exploring attitudes towards the persons with mental illnesses (Crisp et al ., 2000, 2005) was applied. Participants were asked to answer to which degree each of eight statements of the scale refers to persons with depression. Results: The summative score for eight statements points that 32.3% of participants have negative attitudes towards persons with depression. The highest percent of negative attitudes have participants between 20 and 22 years (38.2%), female participants (55.1%), participants with secondary school education (57.5), of worker's employment (45.7%), with good salary (57.5) and participants who announced to have minimal or small knowledge about mental illnesses (71.5). Almost two third of participants (61.5%) think that treatment can improve the condition od persons with depression and almost half of the sample (49.4% ) that the condition can be fully recovered. One third to one half of participants hold opinion that persons with depression are dangerous (34.4%), unpredictable (50.3), not easy to communicate with (56.9%), to be blamed for own condition (33%), feeling different compared to other people (57.7%) and able to pull themselves together (42.6%). Conclusion: The aim of anti-stigma campaigns could be educating the public about depressive disorder and improving the communication with these persons, with special programmes directed toward younger persons.

Cilj: Utvrditi stepen i prirodu stigmatizacije osoba sa depresivnim poremećajem. Metod: Uzorkom smo obuhvatili 575 ispitanika, oba pola, uzrasta iznad 16 godina, različitog nivoa obrazovanja i zaposlenja. U istraživanju je korišćena skala procene (Crisp et al., 2000,2005) kojom smo ispitivali mišljenje uzorka opšte populacije o osobama sa depresivnim poremećajem . Od ispitanika je traženo da odgovore koliko se svaka od osam izjava odnosi na osobe sa depresivnim poremećajem. Rezultati: Zbirni skor ukazuje na to da negativna mišljenja prema osobama sa depresijom ima 32.3% ispitanika. Najveći procenat negativnih stavova imaju osobe uzrasta 20-24 godina (38.2%), ženskog pola (55.1%), sa SSS (57.5%), radničkog zanimana (45.7%), sa dobrim prihodima (61.6%), koje su se izjasnile da imaju minimalno i nešto znana o mentalnim bolestima (71.5%). Skoro dve trećine (61.5%) ispitanika smatra da se osobe sa depresijom mogu poboljšati sa tretmanom, a 49.4% da se mogu u potpunosti oporaviti. Trećina (34.4%) ispitanika smatra da su osobe sa depresijom opasne po druge, 50.3% da su nepredvidive, 56.9% da je sa nima teško razgovarati, 33% da se mogu okrivljavati za stane u kome se nalaze, 57.7% da se osećaju drugačije od ostalih ljudi, 42.6% da mogu učiniti nešto što bi poboljšalo njihovo stanje. Zaključak: Anti-stigma kampanje bi mogle da se usmere na edukaciju javnosti o depresivnom poremećaju, poboljšane komunikacije sa osobama sa depresivnim poremećajem, sa posebnim usmeravanjem programa na ženske osobe mlađeg uzrasta.