Prevalence and Correlates of Mental Health Stigma among Pakistani Adolescents and Young Adults

Authors

Rizwan Abbas Health and Demographic Research (HeDeRa), Department of Sociology, Ghent University Belgium
Katrijn Delaruelle Health and Demographic Research (HeDeRa), Department of Sociology, Ghent University Belgium
Piet Bracke Health and Demographic Research (HeDeRa), Department of Sociology, Ghent University Belgium

Mental health stigma, Gender, Socioeconomic Characteristics, Adolescents, Young Adults, Personal and Public perceived Stigma

Stigma significantly hinders the effective management of mental illness in

Pakistan, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Given that

stigmatizing beliefs can vary across different socioeconomic and demographic

groups, it is crucial to study these variations within the Pakistani context, as most

existing empirical evidence comes from Western contexts. This paper aims to

investigate the prevalence of stigmatizing attitudes and explore the relationship

between the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of adolescents and

young adults and their personal and perceived public stigmatic attitudes towards

mental illness in Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1328

adolescents aged 15-24 from twelve public colleges in Layyah. The survey

assessed personal and perceived public stigmatic attitudes using instruments that

measure social distancing, stigma beliefs, and services stigma. Descriptive

statistics and Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) were employed to evaluate

differences in mean scores and determine the statistical significance of the

observed variations in the scales. The findings indicate that nearly half of the

participants perceived a high level of public social distancing, reflecting a

prevalent sense of social avoidance among adolescents in Pakistan. Similarly, a

substantial portion exhibited stereotypical attitudes towards mental illness, both

personally and publicly. Notably, over 40% of the participants displayed

stigmatizing attitudes toward utilizing professional psychiatric services. Factors

such as gender, residential area, and father’s occupation significantly influenced

these attitudes, with females, rural residents, and children of farmers experiencing

heightened stigma. The study underscores the discrepancy between perceived

public and personal stigmatic attitudes, reveals high levels of stigma associated

with using professional psychiatric services, and illustrates variation in attitudes

by socioeconomic and demographic factors.