Assessment of mental health stigma among public safety personnel in Portugal

PurposeThis paper aims to assess the presence of mental health stigma among public safety personnel (PSP) in Portugal.Design/methodology/approachAn online self-administered form was applied, including the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ-9), the Attitudes Towards Mental Health Problems scale (ATMHP) and the socio-demographic characterisation: age, gender, marital status, children, education and geographical location. The sample included police officers, workers of the General Directorate of Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP) and workers of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), as well as a control group (general population).FindingsIn total, 1,441 people participated, of whom 85% were police officers, 3.3% were INEM staff, 2.6% were DGRSP staff and 9.1% were from general population. The most common socio-demographic characteristics were male, married/common-law marriage, two children, 12 years of education and living in Lisbon and Tagus Valley. On AQ-9, all groups showed higher scores on the stigmatizing constructs help, pity and coercion and lower scores on blame, anger, segregation and avoidance. For the total score, the authors found significant differences only in comparison with INEM, who scored lower. The ATMHP showed that INEM and police officers generally had lower total scores than DGRSP and the general population, with the general population having the highest score. There were no significant gender differences for most of the results in both questionnaires.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study assessing mental health stigma among PSP in Portugal. The authors found stigma among PSP, with INEM showing a lower score in stigmatizing attributions, and INEM and police officers showing better attitudes and less shame towards mental illness.