title: [Mental illnesses in childhood and adolescence: A bioethical view of the stigma they entail].
abstract: Literature suggests that general beliefs towards mental illnesses are strongly correlated to the social behavior towards people who suffer them.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to explore beliefs and attitudes towards mental illnesses in children and adolescents and associate them to bioethics.
  
  
  METHODS
  exploratory, prospective and quantitative study. A questionnaire was administered to parents-tutors of children-adolescents with mental disorders, and to healthcare professionals of the Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad Córdoba (Argentina). Data processing was performed by means of frequency analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  68.5% of parents-tutors and 51.8% of healthcare professionals answered that mental illnesses are never considered like any other illness. Diagnose and treatment is perceived as a stigma by 25.9% of healthcare professionals. For 88.1% of parents-tutors and 9.8% of healthcare professionals, children and adolescents with mental illnesses are never dangerous. 77.1% of parents and 18.4% of professionals stated that people are never afraid of children-adolescents with MI. 42.8% of children-adolescents were excluded from school and 28.5% from family activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  mental illness during childhood entails a stigma that compromises development, equal opportunity and human rights.
authors.affiliation: Sala de Internación Psiquiatría Pediátrica, Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina UNC y UCC. bellamonica@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mónica E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bella
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vilarrodona
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057545:Social Stigma; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires