The stigma of mental illness : generational differences, help seeking behaviours and quality of life

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate gender differences in help seeking behaviours for mental illness, age differences in stigmatizing attitudes and quality of life as a predictor for stigmatizing attitudes. This was a quantitative study that investigated the above hypotheses with a questionnaire, given to 136 participants of all ages. The results indicate that there was a significant difference between the ages in relation to stigmatizing attitudes. There was a gender difference between attitudes towards seeking help for psychological illness. Satisfaction with life was a valid predictor for stigmatizing attitudes. This study can therefore conclude that quality of life is important in how a person reacts to a person with mental illness, similarly as is age and gender. Author keywords: Stigma, mental illness, quality of life, help seeking