IU study finds Americans more accepting of people suffering from depression

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People are becoming more accepting of others suffering from depression, according to a new study by Indiana University, reported by FOX59.

IU researchers used data from the U.S. National Stigma Studies over a 22-year period from 1996 to 2018. According to a news release, the team evaluated how the public understands the causes underlying individuals' problems.

"Stigma translates into so many issues, including people's reluctance to seek care, our shortage of mental health professionals, and the U.S.' unwillingness to invest resources into the mental health sector," study co-author Bernice Pescosolido, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences, said in a news release. "The good news from this study is stigma can change, and the change we document crosses all sectors of society and individuals."

The first change noticed was people becoming more understanding of what mental illness is and accepting those who have it. Researchers also found people are more willing to interact with someone suffering from depression.

Researchers credited a cultural shift and changes in society for the improved acceptance.

"They are willing to include them in their everyday life," Pescosolido said to FOX59. "And that’s a big part of the stigma, is really the isolation and the loneliness of people finding out that you have a particular disease or disorder and then saying I don’t want anything to do with you."

Although the stigma toward people with depression dropped significantly, stigma levels for other mental illnesses remained stagnant and also increased in some cases, according to researchers.

Public perceptions attributing dangerous behavior to schizophrenia and insufficiency of morality to alcohol dependence reveals increases, according to the study.

"It is encouraging to find more progressive attitudes toward mental illness among millennials and to see public stigma around depression significantly decreasing, especially as rates of depression continue to rise in the U.S. among young people," Brea Perry, study co-author and a professor of sociology at IU, said in a news release. "However, the increasing stigmatization of schizophrenia and alcohol dependency is concerning. Taken as a whole, our findings support rethinking stigma and retooling stigma reduction strategies to improve public attitudes surrounding mental illness."