Attitude to mental disorder among residents in Zhengzhou city: a cross-sectional survey

Objective To examine the attitude towards mental disorder and its related factors among the residents in Zhengzhou city for developing mental health promotion programs.Methods A total of 37 201 residents aged ≥15 years were selected with stratified multi-stage cluster random sampling and surveyed with self-administered questionnaires about demographic characteristics and attitude to mental illness between December 1st,2011 and April 30th,2012.Results The overall score of attitude to mental illness was 37.30±4.84 among the residents and the urban residents had a significantly lower score than the rural residents(36.68±4.72 vs 37.43±4.56;t=-100.79;P<0.01).The ratio of the residents with positive attitude towards mental illness was 31.40%.The residents living in the areas with financial support to severe mental diseases management from central government('686' project area) had better attitude towards mental illness than the residents in other areas(38.14±5.03 vs 37.47±4.63; t=46.23;P<0.01).There was significant difference in the scores of attitude to mental illness among the residents with different education(junior middle school or lower:37.24±5.01,senior middle school or vocational school:37.36±4.67,college or undergraduate:7.43±4.65,graduate or highter:37.02±4.84;F=3.38, P<0.05).Conclusions The ratio of the residents with positive attitude to patients with mental illness is low and the attitude towards mental illness is affected by living environment and education level among the residents in Zhengzhou city.