Perceptions of public attitudes towards persons with mental illness in Beijing, China: results from a representative survey
Abstract
Objectives Many studies have examined the general public's attitudes towards people with mental illness, but such studies are scarce in China. This study examined the perceptions of the Beijing population regarding their society's prevalent attitudes towards people with mental illness.Methods A total of 5000 individuals aged 18 or above living in Beijing were selected using a multistage, stratified, cluster and random sampling method. This was followed by a face-to-face interview which used a standardized questionnaire asking about societal attitudes towards individuals with mental illness.Results 4602 out of 5000 eligible individuals met the inclusion criteria and participated in the interview. 4596 questionnaires were deemed valid and included in the analyses. A large proportion of respondents believed that most individuals within their society held negative attitudes and had a strong desire to distance themselves from people with mental illness. Respondents aged 60 or older, who lived farther to downtown Beijing, or with higher education tended to believe that most individuals have relatively positive and tolerant attitudes towards people with mental illness.Conclusions Many people in Beijing perceive that most members of their society have negative beliefs towards people with mental illness. Further efforts are needed to determine if these perceptions are accurate and to reduce the stigma that is reinforced by these perceptions.
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Nearly 92% of individuals diagnosed with mental disorders in China never sought mental health care.
“Evidence shows that nearly 92% of the individuals diagnosed with mental disorders in China never sought mental health care [8-11].”
From Promoting the mental health of university students in China: Protocol for contextual assessment to inform intervention design and adaptation (2021) · cites this paper as [8]
Lay people in China, regardless of education levels, have limited understanding of mental illness and often assign causes of mental illness to individual personality traits and social skills.
“Further, evidence indicates that lay people in China, regardless of education levels, have limited understanding of mental illness and often assign causes of mental illness to individual personality traits and social skills [8].”
From Promoting the mental health of university students in China: Protocol for contextual assessment to inform intervention design and adaptation (2021) · cites this paper as [8]
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References 35 · Cited by 38
- Authors
- Liu, J., Yan, F., Ma, X., Guo, H. L., Tang, Y. L., Rakofsky, J. J., Wu, X. M., Li, X. Q., Zhu, H., Guo, X. B., Yang, Y., Li, P., Cao, X. D., Li, H. Y., Li, Z. B., Wang, P., & Xu, Q. Y.
- Affiliations
- Capital Medical University (CN)
- Emory University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ma, X.
- Venue
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Published
- 2015-10-28
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 443-453
- ISSN
- 0933-7954 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-9285
- OpenAlex
- W1863069122
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 3.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Science and Technology Development Fund
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport
- Keywords
- attitudes toward mental illness, stigma, public perception, social distance, mental health stigma, Beijing, age differences, educational differences, urban-rural differences
- MeSH terms
- Beijing, Adult, Aged, Mental Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Public Opinion, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Stigma
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