Is the self-reporting of mental health problems sensitive to public stigma towards mental illness? A comparison of time trends across English regions (2009-19)

Gagné, Thierry; Henderson, Claire; McMunn, Anne

doi:10.1101/2022.08.08.22278542

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 30 publications

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“…The extent to which time trends in public stigma and mental health are related, however, remains unclear, with at least one study finding no overlap between changes in stigma-related indicators and self-reported mental disorders across English regions over the past decade. 10 Part of the problem in disentangling this mechanism concerns the different levels at which stigma operates, and the extent to which each of these may affect self-reporting. 11 A number of studies examined the variability of stigma-related indicators and mental health problems in England and found that while the local and regional levels may not have a substantive role, the household level may influence the relationship between stigma and self-reporting to a meaningful extent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between parental attitudes towards mental illness and self-reported mental health among young people: Evidence from the Health Survey for England

Gagné

Henderson

McMunn

2022

Preprint

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Background. The prevalence of mental health problems among young adults has rapidly increased over the past decade. The argument that reductions in stigma lead to less under-reporting over time is often presented as a potential explanation. As a first step towards understanding how stigma influence self-reporting in this age group, we examine the extent to which parents' attitudes are related to young people's self-reported mental health. Methods. We leveraged the household design of the 2014 Health Survey for England to test whether mothers' (complete-case n = 630) and fathers' (n = 428) prejudice and tolerance towards people with mental illness is associated with the self-reporting of any specific mental disorder and non-specific psychological distress (GHQ-12) in participants aged 13-24. Associations were tested in random-intercept Poisson models (nesting participants in households) adjusting for parents' sociodemographics and mental health, and participants' own sociodemographics. Results. Mothers were on average less prejudiced (81.2 versus 74.1 out of 100) but as tolerant (72.0 versus 70.0 out of 100) as fathers. In fully-adjusted models: 1) those with a less prejudiced (PR for a one-unit increase = 1.036, 95%CI 1.007-1.066) and more tolerant (PR = 1.038, 95%CI 1.011-1.066) mother had a higher probability of reporting a mental disorder; 2) those with a less prejudiced (PR = 1.034, 95%CI 1.006-1.062) father had a higher probability of reporting a mental disorder; 3) those with a more tolerant father also had a higher probability of reporting a high level of psychological distress (PR = 1.024, 95%CI 1.008-1.041). Conclusion. Parents' attitudes were associated with their children's mental health, more so with specific mental disorders compared with non-specific psychological distress. New data collection efforts are needed to understand changes in parental attitudes over time and its relationship with self-reporting among young people.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between parental attitudes towards mental illness and self-reported mental health among young people: Evidence from the Health Survey for England

Gagné

Henderson

McMunn

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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Explaining long-term trends in adolescent emotional problems: what we know from population-based studies

Armitage,

Collishaw,

Sellers

2024

Discov Soc Sci Health

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Over the past four decades, rates of emotional problems in adolescents have increased in many countries, and outcomes for those with mental health problems have worsened. In this review we explore existing population-based studies to evaluate possible explanations for these trends. We include population-based studies that examine both trends in adolescent emotional problems, as well as risk or protective factors previously hypothesised to be associated with trends in youth depression and anxiety. The available evidence on risk or protective factors trends related to family life, young people’s health behaviours and lifestyle, school environment, peer relationships, as well as poverty. Studies reviewed suggest that trends in emotional problems are associated with increases in parental emotional problems, youth weight-control behaviours and eating disorders, school-related stress, as well as a rise in family poverty and social inequality in the 21st Century. One of the biggest changes in young people’s lives over the last few decades has been the rise of digital media to access information and interact with others, but implications for trends in mental health remain unclear. Other trends are likely to have mitigated against even steeper increases in youth emotional problems, for example improvements in youth substance use and a possible long-term reduction in child maltreatment. Epidemiological studies of unselected cohorts testing explanations for secular trends in mental health are scarce and an urgent priority for future research. Such studies will need to prioritise collection of comparable data in repeated population cohorts. Improving young people’s mental health is a major societal challenge, but considerably more needs to be done to understand the connections between social change and trends in youth mental health.

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The epidemiology of major depression among adults in Norway: an observational study on the concurrence between population surveys and registry data – a NCDNOR project

Bramness,

Hjellvik,

Høye

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background Mental health problems, and major depression in particular, are important public health issues. Following trends in the prevalence of major depression is difficult because of the costs and complications of diagnostic interviews and general population self-report health surveys. Scandinavian countries, however, have several central, population-based health registries. We aimed to investigate how well these registries capture the epidemiology of major depression in the population. Methods In two Norwegian regional surveys of general population health, each repeated after 10 years, responders were asked to report depressive symptoms using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) or the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Data were linked to three central health registries capturing contact with primary care, specialist care and prescriptions for antidepressants, to investigate how well these registries reflected self-reported depressive symptoms. Results Most responders scored low on Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), but 10% and 13%, respectively, scored above cut-off, with only minor changes between the two survey times. Females scored higher than males. Older people scored lower than younger, and a social gradient was visible. Around 12% of those who scored above the cut-off on either scale were recorded in the central health registries during the following year. This correlation was highest in primary care data, followed by prescription data and lowest in specialist care. Females were more often recorded in registries (p < 0.001), as were younger people (p < 0.001). Conclusions There was a strong association between scores on screening for major depression in the general population surveys and being recorded in central health registries. There was a low sensitivity of these registries. and there was some variation in how sensitive the central health registries were in picking up depression, especially for males and older people. However, the stability of the measures over time suggests we may get an impression of the prevalence of major depression in the general population by using data from the central health registries. A combination of primary care data, prescription data and specialist care data have a higher sensitivity.

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Is the self-reporting of mental health problems sensitive to public stigma towards mental illness? A comparison of time trends across English regions (2009-19)

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

Associations between parental attitudes towards mental illness and self-reported mental health among young people: Evidence from the Health Survey for England

Associations between parental attitudes towards mental illness and self-reported mental health among young people: Evidence from the Health Survey for England

Explaining long-term trends in adolescent emotional problems: what we know from population-based studies

The epidemiology of major depression among adults in Norway: an observational study on the concurrence between population surveys and registry data – a NCDNOR project

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