Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie; Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma; Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

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Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie, Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma, Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu

Published in American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 4, Issue 3)

Received: 30 April 2016 Accepted: 9 May 2016 Published: 26 May 2016

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Abstract

The study compared the degree of social distance towards the mentally ill between the public, health workers and relatives of the mentally ill at Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Rivers State of Nigeria. It took place within 10 months. Two hundred and sixty nine consenting subjects were enlisted in the study. However only 254 completed it comprising 110 relatives of the mentally ill, 47 health workers and 97 non-relatives (public). The modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale (MBSDS) and a self designed questionnaire containing socio-demographic and psychiatric illness variables were administered to each subject. The difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and relatives of the mentally ill is statistically significant, while the difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and health workers is not statistically significant. The greatest proportion of respondents (37%) attributed the cause of mentally illness to demonic possession. Stigma towards the mentally ill is not only an important global health concern, but it is a burning human right issue.

Published in	American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
Page(s)	48-51
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Stigma, Mentally-Ill, Social Distance, Health, Scores

References

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APA Style

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie, Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma, Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu. (2016). Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 4(3), 48-51. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

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ACS Style

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie; Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma; Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu. Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2016, 4(3), 48-51. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

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AMA Style

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie, Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma, Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu. Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public. Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2016;4(3):48-51. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13,
  author = {Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie and Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma and Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu},
  title = {Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public},
  journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
  volume = {4},
  number = {3},
  pages = {48-51},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20160403.13},
  abstract = {The study compared the degree of social distance towards the mentally ill between the public, health workers and relatives of the mentally ill at Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Rivers State of Nigeria. It took place within 10 months. Two hundred and sixty nine consenting subjects were enlisted in the study. However only 254 completed it comprising 110 relatives of the mentally ill, 47 health workers and 97 non-relatives (public). The modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale (MBSDS) and a self designed questionnaire containing socio-demographic and psychiatric illness variables were administered to each subject. The difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and relatives of the mentally ill is statistically significant, while the difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and health workers is not statistically significant. The greatest proportion of respondents (37%) attributed the cause of mentally illness to demonic possession. Stigma towards the mentally ill is not only an important global health concern, but it is a burning human right issue.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public
AU  - Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie
AU  - Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma
AU  - Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu
Y1  - 2016/05/26
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
T2  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JF  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JO  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
SP  - 48
EP  - 51
PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
AB  - The study compared the degree of social distance towards the mentally ill between the public, health workers and relatives of the mentally ill at Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Rivers State of Nigeria. It took place within 10 months. Two hundred and sixty nine consenting subjects were enlisted in the study. However only 254 completed it comprising 110 relatives of the mentally ill, 47 health workers and 97 non-relatives (public). The modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale (MBSDS) and a self designed questionnaire containing socio-demographic and psychiatric illness variables were administered to each subject. The difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and relatives of the mentally ill is statistically significant, while the difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and health workers is not statistically significant. The greatest proportion of respondents (37%) attributed the cause of mentally illness to demonic possession. Stigma towards the mentally ill is not only an important global health concern, but it is a burning human right issue.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie

Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma

Department of Educational Management, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu

Department of Psychiatry, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie, Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma, Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu. (2016). Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 4(3), 48-51. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

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ACS Style

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie; Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma; Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu. Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2016, 4(3), 48-51. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

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AMA Style

Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie, Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma, Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu. Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public. Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2016;4(3):48-51. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13,
  author = {Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie and Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma and Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu},
  title = {Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public},
  journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
  volume = {4},
  number = {3},
  pages = {48-51},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20160403.13},
  abstract = {The study compared the degree of social distance towards the mentally ill between the public, health workers and relatives of the mentally ill at Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Rivers State of Nigeria. It took place within 10 months. Two hundred and sixty nine consenting subjects were enlisted in the study. However only 254 completed it comprising 110 relatives of the mentally ill, 47 health workers and 97 non-relatives (public). The modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale (MBSDS) and a self designed questionnaire containing socio-demographic and psychiatric illness variables were administered to each subject. The difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and relatives of the mentally ill is statistically significant, while the difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and health workers is not statistically significant. The greatest proportion of respondents (37%) attributed the cause of mentally illness to demonic possession. Stigma towards the mentally ill is not only an important global health concern, but it is a burning human right issue.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Comparison of Degrees of Social Distance Towards the Mentally Ill Between Relatives of Psychiatric Patients, Health Workers and the General Public
AU  - Chukwujekwu Donald Chidozie
AU  - Chukwujekwu Judith Chioma
AU  - Olose Emmanuel Omamurhomu
Y1  - 2016/05/26
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
T2  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JF  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JO  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
SP  - 48
EP  - 51
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-426X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20160403.13
AB  - The study compared the degree of social distance towards the mentally ill between the public, health workers and relatives of the mentally ill at Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Rivers State of Nigeria. It took place within 10 months. Two hundred and sixty nine consenting subjects were enlisted in the study. However only 254 completed it comprising 110 relatives of the mentally ill, 47 health workers and 97 non-relatives (public). The modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale (MBSDS) and a self designed questionnaire containing socio-demographic and psychiatric illness variables were administered to each subject. The difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and relatives of the mentally ill is statistically significant, while the difference in mean MBSDS scores of the public and health workers is not statistically significant. The greatest proportion of respondents (37%) attributed the cause of mentally illness to demonic possession. Stigma towards the mentally ill is not only an important global health concern, but it is a burning human right issue.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download