Association Between Knowledge about Mental Health, Attitudes and Intended Behaviour Towards Mentally Ill Persons, Among Youth from Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Despite growing efforts to improve mental health literacy, stigma continues to be a major obstacle to social inclusion for mentally ill persons. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study explores the link between knowledge about mental health and attitudes toward mentally ill persons, in shaping prospective intended behaviours towards mentally ill persons in youth from the Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh. The sample selected through the convenience sampling method consisted of 311 participants aged from 18 to 46 years (M = 23.19, SD = 5.32), of which 142 were males (45.7%) and 169 were females (54.3%). Standardised questionnaires were used to assess the participants on relevant variables. Data was subjected to descriptive, correlation and regression analysis for hypothesis testing. Findings indicate significant positive relationships exist between knowledge, attitude and intended behaviours. Knowledge about mental health positively influences intended behaviour, encouraging more supportive and empathetic actions towards the mentally ill. Similarly, attitude towards mentally ill persons significantly predicts intended behaviours towards the mentally ill. The findings support the notion that awareness towards mental health issues can be a strong weapon to fight against the associated stigma and discrimination towards mentally ill persons. The findings suggest the development of an intervention with a component of enhancing knowledge and attitude among the general population to reduce the discriminatory behaviours towards persons with mental illnesses.