Personal stigma and use of mental health services among people with depression in a general population in Finland

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Asko Tolvanen¹  Kristian Wahlbeck²  Jyrki Tuulari³  Esa Aromaa⁴ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014, Finland;National Institute for Health and Welfare, Psychiatric Unit of Vaasa Central Hospital, Sarjakatu 2, 65320, Vaasa, FI, Finland;South-Ostrobothnia Hospital District, Psychiatric Clinic of Lapua, FI-62100, Sairaalantie 9, Lapua, Finland;Vaasa Hospital District and National Institute for Health and Welfare, Psychiatric Unit of Vaasa Central Hospital, FI- 65320, Sarjakatu 2, Vaasa, Finland;

关键词: Mental Health;    Mental Illness;    Mental Health Service;    Mental Health Problem;    Major Depressive Disorder;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-11-52

 received in 2010-09-22, accepted in 2011-03-31,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundA minority of people suffering from depression seek professional help for themselves. Stigmatizing attitudes are assumed to be one of the major barriers to help seeking but there is only limited evidence of this in large general population data sets. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between mental health attitude statements and depression and their links to actual use of mental health services among those with depression.MethodsWe used a large cross-sectional data set from a Finnish population survey (N = 5160). Attitudes were measured by scales which measured the belief that people with depression are responsible for their illness and their recovery and attitudes towards antidepressants. Desire for social distance was measured by a scale and depression with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI-SF) instrument. Use of mental health services was measured by self-report.ResultsOn the social discrimination scale, people with depression showed more social tolerance towards people with mental problems. They also carried more positive views about antidepressants. Among those with depression, users of mental health services, as compared to non-users, carried less desire for social distance to people with mental health problems and more positive views about the effects of antidepressants. More severe depression predicted more active use of services.ConclusionsAlthough stronger discriminative intentions can reduce the use of mental health services, this does not necessarily prevent professional service use if depression is serious and views about antidepressant medication are realistic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Aromaa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011