ABSTRACT
The form and nature may differ across cultures, but stigmatisation of mental illness is present in all societies and all classes of people. The Developing World: Earlier studies had suggested that stigmatising attitudes are less evident in more traditionalist (non-Western) societies, based on the assumption that social representation of mental diseases in such societies with supposedly less differentiation between mental and physical illnesses, has a preventive effect on stigmatisation. This claim has, however, been effectively debunked. In Africa, for instance, mental illness sufferers are socially alienated and abused, often along with their families. Disaffiliated families sometimes abandon and disown their sick members because of societal stigma and shame. The Developed World: Surveys of North America and Western Europe indicate that stigma is a major concern in the community. In Asia, a coffee shop run by people with mental health problems was forced to shut down in China, due to the protests of the local community, while about 80% of Japanese respondents agreed with a landlord’s decision not to rent a house to someone with mental illness. Demographic correlates of stigmatising attitudes: Education, age, familiarity with persons with mental illness, gender, religious affiliation, and profession predict attitudes towards people with mental illness to varying degrees.
