Perceptions of public attitudes towards persons with mental illness in Beijing, China: results from a representative survey.
OBJECTIVE
Many studies have examined the general public's attitudes towards people with mental illness, but such studies are scarce in China. This study examined the perceptions of the Beijing population regarding their society's prevalent attitudes towards people with mental illness.


METHODS
A total of 5000 individuals aged 18 or above living in Beijing were selected using a multistage, stratified, cluster and random sampling method. This was followed by a face-to-face interview which used a standardized questionnaire asking about societal attitudes towards individuals with mental illness.


RESULTS
4602 out of 5000 eligible individuals met the inclusion criteria and participated in the interview. 4596 questionnaires were deemed valid and included in the analyses. A large proportion of respondents believed that most individuals within their society held negative attitudes and had a strong desire to distance themselves from people with mental illness. Respondents aged 60 or older, who lived farther to downtown Beijing, or with higher education tended to believe that most individuals have relatively positive and tolerant attitudes towards people with mental illness.


CONCLUSIONS
Many people in Beijing perceive that most members of their society have negative beliefs towards people with mental illness. Further efforts are needed to determine if these perceptions are accurate and to reduce the stigma that is reinforced by these perceptions.
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Liu
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Yan
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China. maxinanding@vip.163.com.
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Ma
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Guo
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Tang
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Rakofsky
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Wu
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Li
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Zhu
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Guo
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Yang
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Li
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Cao
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Li
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Li
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Wang
Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 5 Ankang Lane, Dewai Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100088, China.
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Xu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000068476:Beijing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D057545:Social Stigma; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Epidemiology; Mental illness; Social acceptance; Social distance; Stigmatization