Measuring Beliefs and Norms About Persons With Mental Illness

Measuring Beliefs and Norms About Persons With Mental Illness in Rural Uganda: A Randomized Survey Experiment

Survey experiment to estimate drivers of mental illness stigma

Despite significant advances in scientific understanding of brain and substance use disorders accompanied by significant advances in treatment and improvements in prognosis, mental illness remains highly stigmatized throughout the world. Previous studies suggest that portraying mental illness as treatable can reduce negative attitudes toward persons with mental illness. This randomized controlled trial compares the effects of exposing study participants to vignettes portraying persons with untreated and symptomatic mental illness vs. treated mental illness with complete response vs. treated mental illness with relapse. It is hypothesized, based on prior work, that study participants exposed to vignettes depicting treated mental illness with completed response would have the greatest effect on reducing negative attitudes toward persons with mental illness, followed by treated mental illness with relapse and untreated and symptomatic mental illness.

Inclusion Criteria:

• all persons who considered Nyakabare Parish their primary place of residence and who were capable of providing consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• minors younger than 18 years of age, with the exception of emancipated minors
• persons who did not consider Nyakabare their primary place of residence, e.g., persons who happened to be visiting Nyakabare at the time of the survey or who owned a home in Nyakabare but spent most of their time outside the parish
• persons with whom research staff could not communicate, e.g., due to deafness, mutism, or aphasia
• persons with psychosis, neurological damage, acute intoxication, or other cognitive impairment (all of which were determined informally in the field by non-clinical research staff in consultation with a supervisor)