Attitudes and Stigma Toward Seeking Psychological Help Among the General Population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Background and objective Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health conditions globally, and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 25% of people worldwide suffer from them. Serious mental diseases can cause a great deal of suffering and incapacity, lowering p...

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Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2024-03, Vol.16 (3), p.e55492-e55492
Main Authors: Aljuhnie, Mohammed A, Alharbi, Abdullah S, Alharbi, Omar F, Saati, Asim A, Alshumrani, Fahad A, Alharbi, Abdullah E, Hazazi, Raghad F, Alharbi, Mohammad S, Shatla, Mokhtar
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Subjects:
Age
Anxiety
Asymptomatic
Attitudes
Education
Family/General Practice
Females
Gender
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Psychiatry
Psychology
Questionnaires
Sociodemographics
Socioeconomic factors
Stigma
University students
Variables
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creator Aljuhnie, Mohammed A
Alharbi, Abdullah S
Alharbi, Omar F
Saati, Asim A
Alshumrani, Fahad A
Alharbi, Abdullah E
Hazazi, Raghad F
Alharbi, Mohammad S
Shatla, Mokhtar
description Background and objective Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health conditions globally, and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 25% of people worldwide suffer from them. Serious mental diseases can cause a great deal of suffering and incapacity, lowering people's quality of life. Stigma and unfavorable attitudes toward mental illness often discourage people from seeking psychological assistance and achieving recovery from mental problems. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the attitudes of the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, toward seeking psychological help, and to determine the degree to which stigma prevents individuals from seeking help. Methods An online, self-administered survey was distributed via social media platforms among the general population of Makkah between September and December 2023. Males and females over the age of 18 years living in Makkah were included. The exclusion criteria were participants who declined to participate in the study or those who were below 18 years of age. Results A total of 495 eligible participants completed the study survey. Of them, 378 (76.4%) were female, and most (390, 78.8%) were Saudi Arabian nationals. A total of 341 (68.9%) participants had symptoms of anxiety, and 319 (64.4%) had symptoms of depression. Regarding unfavorable attitudes, the scores were significantly higher among participants over 40 years of age (1.81 ± 0.46; p
doi_str_mv 10.7759/cureus.55492
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Serious mental diseases can cause a great deal of suffering and incapacity, lowering people's quality of life. Stigma and unfavorable attitudes toward mental illness often discourage people from seeking psychological assistance and achieving recovery from mental problems. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the attitudes of the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, toward seeking psychological help, and to determine the degree to which stigma prevents individuals from seeking help. Methods An online, self-administered survey was distributed via social media platforms among the general population of Makkah between September and December 2023. Males and females over the age of 18 years living in Makkah were included. The exclusion criteria were participants who declined to participate in the study or those who were below 18 years of age. Results A total of 495 eligible participants completed the study survey. Of them, 378 (76.4%) were female, and most (390, 78.8%) were Saudi Arabian nationals. A total of 341 (68.9%) participants had symptoms of anxiety, and 319 (64.4%) had symptoms of depression. Regarding unfavorable attitudes, the scores were significantly higher among participants over 40 years of age (1.81 ± 0.46; p&lt;0.05) and those with relatively low levels of education (1.93 ± 0.65; p&lt;0.05). As for stigma, the scores were significantly higher among male participants (2.38 ± 0.83; p&lt;0.05) and those with low levels of education (2.54 ± 0.8; p&lt;0.05). Conclusion A significant negative correlation between participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help and stigma was observed. However, in contrast, the psychological symptom scores did not significantly correlate with the participants' attitudes. Stigma scores showed significant positive correlations with depression and overall symptom scores. This research showed that stigma has a significant impact on attitudes toward help-seeking.</description><identifier>ISSN: 2168-8184</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 2168-8184</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.7759/cureus.55492</identifier><identifier>PMID: 38571867</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>United States: Cureus Inc</publisher><subject>Age ; Anxiety ; Asymptomatic ; Attitudes ; Education ; Family/General Practice ; Females ; Gender ; Mental depression ; Mental disorders ; Mental health ; Psychiatry ; Psychology ; Questionnaires ; Sociodemographics ; Socioeconomic factors ; Stigma ; University students ; Variables</subject><ispartof>Curēus (Palo Alto, CA), 2024-03, Vol.16 (3), p.e55492-e55492</ispartof><rights>Copyright © 2024, Aljuhnie et al.</rights><rights>Copyright © 2024, Aljuhnie et al. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.</rights><rights>Copyright © 2024, Aljuhnie et al. 2024 Aljuhnie et al.</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><oa>free_for_read</oa><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c300t-5aa90ab6ac21a1f735ef05b15d0b746722153e45f380b3f04129d5d38ed7b4aa3</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktopdf>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/3049768889/fulltextPDF?pq-origsite=primo$$EPDF$$P50$$Gproquest$$Hfree_for_read</linktopdf><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/3049768889?pq-origsite=primo$$EHTML$$P50$$Gproquest$$Hfree_for_read</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>230,314,727,780,784,885,25753,27924,27925,37012,37013,38516,43895,44590,53791,53793,74412,75126</link.rule.ids><backlink>$$Uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38571867$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed$$Hfree_for_read</backlink></links><search><creatorcontrib>Aljuhnie, Mohammed A</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alharbi, Abdullah S</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alharbi, Omar F</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Saati, Asim A</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alshumrani, Fahad A</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alharbi, Abdullah E</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Hazazi, Raghad F</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Alharbi, Mohammad S</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Shatla, Mokhtar</creatorcontrib><title>Attitudes and Stigma Toward Seeking Psychological Help Among the General Population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia</title><title>Curēus (Palo Alto, CA)</title><addtitle>Cureus</addtitle><description>Background and objective Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health conditions globally, and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 25% of people worldwide suffer from them. Serious mental diseases can cause a great deal of suffering and incapacity, lowering people's quality of life. Stigma and unfavorable attitudes toward mental illness often discourage people from seeking psychological assistance and achieving recovery from mental problems. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the attitudes of the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, toward seeking psychological help, and to determine the degree to which stigma prevents individuals from seeking help. Methods An online, self-administered survey was distributed via social media platforms among the general population of Makkah between September and December 2023. Males and females over the age of 18 years living in Makkah were included. The exclusion criteria were participants who declined to participate in the study or those who were below 18 years of age. Results A total of 495 eligible participants completed the study survey. Of them, 378 (76.4%) were female, and most (390, 78.8%) were Saudi Arabian nationals. A total of 341 (68.9%) participants had symptoms of anxiety, and 319 (64.4%) had symptoms of depression. Regarding unfavorable attitudes, the scores were significantly higher among participants over 40 years of age (1.81 ± 0.46; p&lt;0.05) and those with relatively low levels of education (1.93 ± 0.65; p&lt;0.05). As for stigma, the scores were significantly higher among male participants (2.38 ± 0.83; p&lt;0.05) and those with low levels of education (2.54 ± 0.8; p&lt;0.05). Conclusion A significant negative correlation between participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help and stigma was observed. However, in contrast, the psychological symptom scores did not significantly correlate with the participants' attitudes. Stigma scores showed significant positive correlations with depression and overall symptom scores. 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Serious mental diseases can cause a great deal of suffering and incapacity, lowering people's quality of life. Stigma and unfavorable attitudes toward mental illness often discourage people from seeking psychological assistance and achieving recovery from mental problems. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the attitudes of the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, toward seeking psychological help, and to determine the degree to which stigma prevents individuals from seeking help. Methods An online, self-administered survey was distributed via social media platforms among the general population of Makkah between September and December 2023. Males and females over the age of 18 years living in Makkah were included. The exclusion criteria were participants who declined to participate in the study or those who were below 18 years of age. Results A total of 495 eligible participants completed the study survey. Of them, 378 (76.4%) were female, and most (390, 78.8%) were Saudi Arabian nationals. A total of 341 (68.9%) participants had symptoms of anxiety, and 319 (64.4%) had symptoms of depression. Regarding unfavorable attitudes, the scores were significantly higher among participants over 40 years of age (1.81 ± 0.46; p&lt;0.05) and those with relatively low levels of education (1.93 ± 0.65; p&lt;0.05). As for stigma, the scores were significantly higher among male participants (2.38 ± 0.83; p&lt;0.05) and those with low levels of education (2.54 ± 0.8; p&lt;0.05). Conclusion A significant negative correlation between participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help and stigma was observed. However, in contrast, the psychological symptom scores did not significantly correlate with the participants' attitudes. Stigma scores showed significant positive correlations with depression and overall symptom scores. This research showed that stigma has a significant impact on attitudes toward help-seeking.</abstract><cop>United States</cop><pub>Cureus Inc</pub><pmid>38571867</pmid><doi>10.7759/cureus.55492</doi><oa>free_for_read</oa></addata></record>
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subjects Age
Anxiety
Asymptomatic
Attitudes
Education
Family/General Practice
Females
Gender
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Psychiatry
Psychology
Questionnaires
Sociodemographics
Socioeconomic factors
Stigma
University students
Variables
title Attitudes and Stigma Toward Seeking Psychological Help Among the General Population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia
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