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BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2021

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Research Article

Individual-level socioeconomic status and contact or familiarity with people with mental illness: a cross-sectional study in Wuhou District, Chengdu, Southwest China

Authors: Mengmeng Wang, Ya Wang, Jiajun Xu, Na Meng, Xiaolin Li, Zheng Liu, Junqiang Huang

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

People with mental illness (PWMI) often suffer from public stigma, which can make them unwilling to seek help and reduce access to early treatment. The aims of this study were to determine attitudes towards PWMI among the general public in a Chinese sample and to explore the relationships with sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods

A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2019. The participants’ attitudes towards PWMI were evaluated by the Chinese version of the Social Distance Scale (SDSC). An independent-sample T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to determine the association of categorical variables with the outcome variable. Multiple linear regression and Spearman correlations were computed to explore the correlation between SDSC scores and individual-level socioeconomic status (SES).

Results

A total of 1437 participants were recruited, and their total SDSC score was 12.53 (SD: 3.11). Univariate analysis results showed that age, education level, educational attainment, and individual-level SES as well as whether they were caregivers/family members of PWMI were correlated with SDSC scores. The results of regression analysis showed a significant effect caused by contact or familiarity with PWMI (B = -1.134, β = -.190, P < 0.001), as well as for individual-level SES (B = -.339, β = -.110, P < 0.001). Spearman correlation results showed that SDSC scores were negatively correlated with individual-level SES (r = -.078, p < 0.01) and contact or familiarity with PWMI (r = -.168, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This study reveals that public stigma towards PWMI is common in Southwest China. Individuals who are not a family member or a caregiver of PWMI or have low education level or low individual-level SES need to be provided more anti-stigma interventions. Contacting with PWMI is also a potentially beneficial measure to reduce social distance.
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Metadata
Title
Individual-level socioeconomic status and contact or familiarity with people with mental illness: a cross-sectional study in Wuhou District, Chengdu, Southwest China
Authors
Mengmeng Wang
Ya Wang
Jiajun Xu
Na Meng
Xiaolin Li
Zheng Liu
Junqiang Huang
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-021-01422-y

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