Volume 26 , Issue 2 , December 2024 , Pages 5-18
Masty Rebwar Muhammad 1 ; Awin Salih Mahmoud 1 ; Daniel Saadi Hamid 2
1 Department of Biology, College of Education, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimanyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
2 Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Background: Individuals who have mental illness and other mental health challenges
often encounter stigma, discrimination, and significant societal disadvantage. The negative
implications and erroneous beliefs associated with mental health disorders may be as
damaging as the disorders themselves. Disorders like Schizophrenia can conjure images of
aggression and incapacity for self-care.
Objective: To determine the proportion of people who have wrong views of mental
illness.
Methods: We designed a 20-question questionnaire that asked people's opinions about
people with mental illness. We analyzed the data using statistical approaches, including
Cronbach’s alpha, to ascertain the final reliability result. Information was gathered from
200 respondents to enhance the accuracy of their responses, yielding a reliability value of
0.892.
Results: Individuals with mental health conditions can encounter significant stigma and
prejudice.
Conclusions: Stigma engenders several severe issues for those who have mental illness.
The problem originates from the public's insufficient understanding of mental disease.