Abstract

Stigma of mental illness is common in every country, especially in developing countries like Vietnam. Causal beliefs such as physiology, stress, and supernatural can influence the stigma of mental illness and the mentally ill, which in turn, affect people’s willingness to seek help from others. Social media plays an important role in providing information about mental illness, which can affect mental illness stigma. This current study investigated the relationship between mental health knowledge, causal beliefs of mental distress, stigma of mental illness, help-seeking attitudes, mental illness portrayal on social media, and level of mental illness exposure in two Vietnamese groups, college students and older adults. 95 college students and 46 older adults aged 25 and above completed surveys on Qualtrics. Results indicated that there is no impact of age difference on causal beliefs, attitudes toward mental illness and the mentally, and help-seeking attitudes. Both groups did not correctly identify the mental disorders mentioned in the case vignettes. There was no relationship found between causal beliefs and attitudes toward seeking help, but mental illness stigma was significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes. The more frequent a portrayal of mental health problems appear on common social media platforms such as Facebook, the more willing people are to get psychiatric attention. People who are more familiar or exposed to mental illness such as working directly with an individual with a mental disorder showed less stigma about mental illness and less avoidance in personal concerns. These results show that social media portrayal of mental illness can help increase people’s willingness to seek psychological help from professionals.

Advisor

Wilhelms, Evan

Department

Psychology

Disciplines

Psychology

Keywords

mental illness, stigma, Vietnam

Publication Date

2022

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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