Development of a new measure of discrimination in mental illness

Abstract

A large number of individuals within our society are likely to experience an episode of mental illness within their lifetime. One of the commonly reported barriers to seeking treatment has been the stigma and prejudice associated with having a mental illness. We constructed a self-report mental illness discrimination measure consistent with the levels as described by Allport (1979). We surveyed 323 community participants aged 17- 65 years. The results show that 98% of the community report that they have witnessed discrimination against someone with a mental illness and 46% report they have personally discriminated against someone in the past 12 months. This study demonstrates that discrimination in mental illness is widespread and evident within the community and that barriers associated with treatment may be due to social factors such as discrimination.