Childhood mental illness has a stigma

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

American parents want their kids to keep away from others who have mental illness, says a new study.
Mental illness carries far more stigma than physical illness does, according to a new study from researchers at Indiana University. They looked at data from face-to-face interviews of adults who were given descriptions of children with symptoms similar to asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression or 'normal troubles'. The interviewer did not mention a specific diagnosis for any child.

Around 30 per cent of the 1,134 participants said they could not want their child to become friends with one who had depression and almost one in four said the same about a child with ADHD. And around 20 per cent said they did not want a kid with ADHD or depression living next door to them. But negative responses were far fewer when it came to a child with a physical disability like asthma. Clearly there is substantial prejudice against children with mental illness among the adult population - so it is time for an increase in public awareness and understanding.

Source
Journal of Health and Social Behavior March 2007

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