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‘Warning lights are flashing’ on attitudes to mental health, charity says

A survey of public attitudes to mental illness has found that, on some measures, public sympathy towards those with poor mental health has declined

17th October 2024 about a 4 minute read
“What lies behind these shifts is not certain, but the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis could be significant contributors. These events likely made it harder to access care and to recover from mental illness." Claire Henderson, clinical professor of public mental health, King’s College London

Mind, the mental health charity, says that ‘warning lights are flashing’ as its latest report shows a decline in people’s willingness to live with or near someone with mental health problems.

The Attitudes to Mental Illness report – which, Mind says, is the most comprehensive analysis of the state of stigma relating to mental health in England – shows that several measures of public attitudes to mental health have seen their first decline in more than 10 years.

The report does, however, also show some areas of improvement and reasons for optimism. These include increased public acceptance of people with depression and schizophrenia and improved workplace attitudes.

The report’s authors, who are all researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, examined three components of public attitudes: knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.

On the knowledge measure, they found that public knowledge of some aspects of mental health has fallen back to 2009 levels. This is driven by increasing pessimism about the ability of people with mental health problems to recover and a lack of knowledge about how to support people with mental health problems.

When asked if people with mental health problems could fully recover, 59% of people agreed, down from 67% in 2019. Asked if they knew what advice to give a friend seeking professional help with a mental health problem 60% agreed, down from 66% in 2019. This may be the result of public concerns about the difficulties of trying to access mental health services.

Less faith in efficacy of care for people with mental health problems

Looking at attitudes to mental health, the researchers found that they have returned to 2014 levels, driven by declining faith in community-based care. While the decrease in prejudice achieved in the past fifteen years has been maintained, there is now less faith in the suitability and efficacy of care for people with mental health problems in communities.

When asked whether the best therapy for many people with mental illness is to be part of a normal community 72% agreed, down from 79% in 2019. At the same time, only 11% of respondents agreed that there were sufficient services for people with mental illness (down from 16% in 2019).

On the behaviour measure, the researchers found that intended behaviour towards people with mental health problems has dropped to 2009 levels. This shift is largely driven by changing views in people’s willingness to live with or near someone with mental health problems.

When asked if they’d be willing to live with someone with mental health problems only 55% said they would, down from 66% in 2019. Asked whether they’d be willing to live nearby to someone with mental health problems, 75% said they would, down from 81% in 2019.

Greater acceptance of people with depression or schizophrenia

Claire Henderson, clinical professor of public mental health at King’s, said:

“What lies behind these shifts is not certain, but the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis could be significant contributors. These events likely made it harder to access care and to recover from mental illness. It is also possible that the end of Time to Change – a national anti-stigma programme – in 2021 contributed to the increases in stigma we are seeing.”

There were some positive findings, however. Since 2007 people are now more likely to say they’d be willing to make friends with someone with depression or schizophrenia, as well as have them as a colleague, accept them into their family and have them provide childcare.

The largest shifts show that 80% of people would now accept someone with depression marrying into their family, up from 53% in 2007. For schizophrenia, those figures have moved from 37% in 2007 to 72% in 2023.

Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Mind, said: “The warning lights are flashing on mental health stigma. The progress we’ve made in recent years has been hard won, but this research shows it’s fragile and not fixed. I am deeply worried the deteriorating discourse around mental health we see in parts of the media and on social media means these trends will continue.”

FCC Insight

The Attitudes to Mental Illness report is a useful measure for tracking how public attitudes to mental illness have changed over time. In recent years, there has been steady progress showing greater understanding and support of people with mental illness. This year’s report seems, on some measures, to show that some of that progress has been reversed, with fewer people saying they were willing to live with someone with mental health problems Other findings are more positive, showing an increase in people’s willingness to accept someone with depression or schizophrenia marrying into their family. The most significant change appears to be a drop in public confidence in the ability of mental health services to treat people experiencing mental health problems. The message we should take away is that policy now needs to focus urgently on equipping the health service to cope with the rising demand from people experiencing mental ill-health.