Effect of Stigma & Shame on Attitudes of Young Adults as Well as Older Adults Towards Mental Health

Abstract

Aim – The aim of this paper is to study the attitudes of young adults and older adults towards mental health in respect to the stigma shame. For the study two tools, Perceived Discrimination and Devaluation Scale and Attitude Towards Mental Health Problem Scale were used. Sample –The sample comprised of 102 adults; sample consists of 51 young adults in the age range of 18-45 years and 51 older adults in the age range of 46- above. The sample had both males and females (40 and 62 respectively) collected through random sampling. Result –  Results show weak yet significant relationship between attitude, stigma and shame. the results also show a significant difference in perceived stigma of the young adults as well as older adults where (M= 3.33, SD =.683) & (M= 2.98, SD= .374) respectively, so we can infer that young adult have a higher perceived stigma than older adults. As we saw above stigma and attitude have a negative correlation, thus we can say that the higher the stigma in young adults, the negative the attitude towards mental health and vice-versa for the older adult’s population. The 2nd hypothesis and the 3rd hypothesis suggested that stigma, shame and attitude would show a high correlation and that young adults would have a low level of stigma and shame, then older adults, both of which we were unable to establish. A more in-depth study at a larger scale needs to be conducted to provide more conclusive evidence.