title: Perceived mental health related stigma, gender, and depressive symptom severity in a psychiatric facility in South India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies exist on the topic of gender associated with depression and mental health-related stigma coming out of non-Western countries such as India. We aimed to add to the literature by assessing these relationships among adults seeking psychiatric services in India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 60 individuals seeking care at a psychiatric clinic in Bangalore, India. The majority of participants were female with a mean age of 36 years (SD=9.75).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Contrary to our prediction, there were no significant differences between men (M=28.96; SD=9.85) and women (M=33.03; SD=12.08) on depression severity, t(58)=1.42, p=.16. Yet, women (M=10.09, SD=8.23) reported significantly more perceived stigma than men (M=5.79, SD=5.86), t(58)=2.30, p=.02.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While men and women seeking psychiatric services at the psychiatric clinic in India report similar levels of depression severity, women reported more perceived mental illness stigma. Having experienced regular forms of discrimination associated with female status in India, it may be the case that women are more attuned to other forms of stigma, such as mental health stigma investigated in the present study. Given the detrimental impact of stigma on treatment adherence and engagement in care, additional research is needed support this work, including research on interventions to reduce stigma and improve engagement in care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Study of Health and Risk Behaviors, University of Washington, 1100 NE 45th Street, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98105, United States. Electronic address: magdalena.kulesza@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulesza
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raguram
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, University of Washington, 325 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, United States.
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D057545:Social Stigma
keywords: Depression; Gender; India; Stigma; Women