TY - JOUR
T1 - Self and public stigma towards mental illnesses and its predictors among university students in 11 Arabic-speaking countries: A multi-site study
T2 - A multi-site study
AU - Al Omari, Omar
AU - Valsaraj, Blessy Prabha
AU - Khatatbeh, Moawiah
AU - Al-Jubouri, Mohammed Baqer
AU - Emam, Mahmoud
AU - Al Hashmi, Iman
AU - Al Qadire, Mohammad
AU - Aljezawi, Maen
AU - ALBashtawy, Mohammed
AU - Alkhawaldeh, Abdullah
AU - Hasona, Aisha Awad
AU - Tarhini, Zeinab
AU - Damra, Jalal
AU - Al Sabei, Sulaiman
AU - Mohamed, Nora
N1 - Funding Information:
We hereby acknowledge that we received a research grant from Sultan Qaboos University that enabled us to complete the study successfully.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - This study aimed to explore self and public stigma towards mental illness and associated factors among university students from 11 Arabic-speaking countries. This cross-sectional study included 4241 university students recruited from Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Sudan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. The participants completed three self-administrative online questionnaires-Demographic Proforma (age, gender, family income, etc.), Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale and Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire. There was a significant difference in the average mean between the 11 countries (p < 0.01) based on stigma agreement (self) and stigma awareness (public). The mean stigma agreement towards mental illnesses among university students was 19.7 (SD = 6.0), with the lowest in Lebanon, 15.9 (SD = 5.1) and the highest in UAE, 24.1 (SD = 5.6). The factors associated with stigma agreement included poor knowledge, being male, high family income, age, weak cumulative grade point average (cGPA), mothers with primary education, an unemployed parent, students in scientific colleges and fathers who completed secondary or university degrees. Furthermore, the factors associated with stigma awareness included good knowledge, acceptable cGPA and having a father who has a low income and is illiterate. Stigma towards mental illness varies among university students across Arabic-speaking countries. There is a need to sensitize youngsters to the need for a humanitarian approach in society to individuals affected by mental health concerns. Major governmental reforms must be initiated for the provision of mental health services for individuals with mental illnesses.
AB - This study aimed to explore self and public stigma towards mental illness and associated factors among university students from 11 Arabic-speaking countries. This cross-sectional study included 4241 university students recruited from Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Sudan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. The participants completed three self-administrative online questionnaires-Demographic Proforma (age, gender, family income, etc.), Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale and Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire. There was a significant difference in the average mean between the 11 countries (p < 0.01) based on stigma agreement (self) and stigma awareness (public). The mean stigma agreement towards mental illnesses among university students was 19.7 (SD = 6.0), with the lowest in Lebanon, 15.9 (SD = 5.1) and the highest in UAE, 24.1 (SD = 5.6). The factors associated with stigma agreement included poor knowledge, being male, high family income, age, weak cumulative grade point average (cGPA), mothers with primary education, an unemployed parent, students in scientific colleges and fathers who completed secondary or university degrees. Furthermore, the factors associated with stigma awareness included good knowledge, acceptable cGPA and having a father who has a low income and is illiterate. Stigma towards mental illness varies among university students across Arabic-speaking countries. There is a need to sensitize youngsters to the need for a humanitarian approach in society to individuals affected by mental health concerns. Major governmental reforms must be initiated for the provision of mental health services for individuals with mental illnesses.
KW - personal stigma
KW - public stigma
KW - stigma
KW - stigma agreement
KW - stigma awareness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85168670849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85168670849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3fb772b7-3508-3449-a889-0c9fe140d757/
U2 - 10.1111/inm.13206
DO - 10.1111/inm.13206
M3 - Article
C2 - 37614016
AN - SCOPUS:85168670849
SN - 1445-8330
VL - 32
SP - 1745
EP - 1755
JO - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
JF - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
IS - 6
ER -