Attitude to diseases and social distance of persons with mental disorders

The stigma of a mental illness negatively affects the social status of patients, compliance, quality of life, and leads to self-stigmatization. The medical sociological method and the modified Bogardus social distance scale were used to examine 271 psychiatric patients in 3 regions of Russia. The sample included patients with schizophrenic disorders, affective disorders, and organic mental disorders. Persons with mental disorders have a high degree of social maladaptation combined with anosognosia: 26.4% of men and 21.7% of women completely denied the presence of mental illness; 51.8% of men and 37.6% of women admitted that they had "psychological problems", another 16.6% of respondents indicated a "mild mental disorder", and only 10.3% of patients reported having a mental diseases. A high level of stigmatization of persons with mental disorders by psychiatric patients was revealed, which is associated with insufficient criticism of their mental disorder.