The Relationship Between Stigma And Perception Of Mental Health Problems In Ghana

Mental health stigma is often associated with symptom progression and delays in treatment seeking. This study field recruited a sample of 507 Ghanaian adults to take part in a survey utilizing a randomized experimental vignette design to learn more about their conceptualizations of mental health symptoms and examine attitudes toward those experiencing those symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned a vignette featuring a person with symptoms of one of five common mental health concerns. They were then asked to indicate if the vignette subject had a “problem” and complete a multidimensional stigma measure. Results indicate that relational and treatability related stigma were inversely related to perceptions of if the vignette subject had a problem, while public and disclosure related stigma were directly associated with problem perception. Thus, stigma reduction efforts may be particularly effective when tailored to target specific stigma domains. Implications for future research and social policy are explored.