Relationship of religiosity to mental health literacy,stigma, social distance,and occupational restrictiveness in Ningxia Province,China |
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| Authors: | Zhizhong Wang Hanhui Chen Harold Koenig |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Epidemiology, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, People’s Republic of China;2. Suicide Research and Prevention Center, Shanghai Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China;3. School of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA |
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| Abstract: | Little research has assessed the relationship between religiosity and mental health awareness in low- and middle-income countries. This study identified a representative sample of 2,425 community-dwelling adults in Ningxia, China and administered the Duke University Religion Index, the Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire, the Mental Health Attitude Questionnaire, the Social Distance – Personal Questionnaire and the Social Restrictiveness – Occupational Questionnaire. Religious affiliation per se was not associated with mental health literacy or attitudes, but higher levels of religiosity were associated with better awareness of mental health issues and less social distance and occupational restrictiveness of those with mental health conditions. However, these relationships were substantially different in Hui ethnicity respondents (85% of whom were practicing Islam) and Han ethnicity respondents (15% of whom practiced Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism). |
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| Keywords: | Mental health awareness stigma religious involvement mainland China cross-sectional study |
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