Public perceptions toward mental illness in Japan

•Most Japanese believed depressive disorder or schizophrenia can be cured.•Japanese respondents recognized mental health symptoms in vignettes.•Respondents expressed stronger stigma toward people with schizophrenia symptoms. The purpose was to characterize public perceptions in Japan of mental illne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian journal of psychiatry 2018-06, Vol.35, p.55-60
Main Authors: Kasahara-Kiritani, Mami, Matoba, Tomoko, Kikuzawa, Saeko, Sakano, Junko, Sugiyama, Katsumi, Yamaki, Chikako, Mochizuki, Mieko, Yamazaki, Yoshihiko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Depressive disorder
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Japan
Male
Mental Disorders
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Schizophrenia
Social Stigma
Stereotyping
Stigma
Stigma-related attitudes
Young Adult
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Summary:•Most Japanese believed depressive disorder or schizophrenia can be cured.•Japanese respondents recognized mental health symptoms in vignettes.•Respondents expressed stronger stigma toward people with schizophrenia symptoms. The purpose was to characterize public perceptions in Japan of mental illness and how they related to stigma-related attitudes for the same. Data were obtained using a vignette survey conducted as a part of the Stigma in Global Context - Mental Health Study and contained a nationally representative sample (n = 994). The survey was conducted using a multi-mode approach (face-to-face interviews, the drop-off-and-pick-up, postal collection) from September to December 2006, with a multi-stage probability sample of Japanese residents aged 18–64 years. Respondents were randomly assigned one of four vignette conditions that described psychiatric disorders meeting the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (one vignette for each gender exhibiting each diagnosis). We compared respondents’ stigma-related attitudes and perceptions toward mental illness between vignettes. Over 80% of Japanese participants believed that depressive disorder or schizophrenia could be cured via treatment. However, Japanese people still had relatively strong vigilance and denial of competency toward schizophrenia. Participants expressed the belief that mental illnesses are curable, but stigma toward people with schizophrenia was still relatively strong.
ISSN:1876-2018
1876-2026
DOI:10.1016/j.ajp.2018.05.021