The way young people see the mentally ill: a questionnaire study.

BACKGROUND The stigmatizing of the mentally ill is quite common and has numerous social and economical consequences for these individuals. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The aim of this paper was to examine young peoples' beliefs regarding the mentally disordered. The authors' questionnaire regarding the interviewees' age, gender, social background and their opinions on the mentally ill was conducted among a popular portal's users. RESULTS 11900 people were questioned, including 71% women. 30% of the interviewees were under the age of 19, while 34% of them were between 19 and 24 years old and 36% were over 24. 39% of the interviewees stated they closely knew at least one mentally ill person. 44% of the questioned believed a lot of criminal offenders were mentally ill. 66% of interviewees would not mind sharing a flat with a mentally disordered person, 64% would agree to work with one. Those who personally knew a mentally disordered person were more inclined to share a flat or start a relationship with such an individual, than the rest of the interviewed (51% vs. 37% for flat sharing and 38% vs. 26% for starting a relationship, p<0.001). More questioned under the age of 19 believed that significant number of criminal offenders were mentally ill, than those over the age of 24 (50% vs. 37%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS According to the acquired data, many young Poles believe that the mentally disordered are inclined to break the law and behave aggressively. These opinions seem to be related amongst others to age and gender, and they result in unwillingness to have relations with the mentally disordered.