Attitude of middle school students toward persons with mental illness in Macau

Attitude of middle school students toward persons with mental illness in Macau

University of Saint Joseph

Macau

2024

128

chi

Library Catalog (Koha)

M-SW 2024 FAN,IN

The aim of this study is to apply phenomenology to explore the attitudes of secondary school students in Macau towards individuals with mental illness. The research background indicates that the number of individuals with mental illness has significantly increased since the outbreak of the pandemic. However, mental illness and those affected by it have consistently faced stigmatization, discrimination, and isolation. In such a social climate, individuals with mental illness are compelled to conceal their condition, feel ashamed, and some even refuse to seek help in order to fit into society. To gain in-depth understanding of the attitudes of Macau secondary school students towards individuals with mental illness, this study employed the method of focus group interviews with a total of nine participating researchers. The research results revealed that among the nine participants,only one expressed willingness to learn, socialize, and collaborate with individuals with mental illness,while the other eight, to varying degrees, rejected contact with them. Additionally, these participating researchers held stereotypical, stigmatizing, and discriminatory attitudes towards patients. A common characteristic among them was a lack of understanding of mental illness and a lack of proactive efforts to learn about mental illness and rehabilitation information, as they perceived it as unrelated to themselves. The research findings reflect that adolescents perceive mental illness as unrelated to themselves, thus they do not actively seek relevant information, and they exhibit a binary and exclusionary thinking style towards individuals with mental illness. Based on Kohlberg's moral theory, adolescents tend to exclude other groups in order to support their own group, reflecting their moral development at the third and fourth levels. However, adolescents need to continue cultivating moral and reasoning abilities, so as to not harm the rights of others while seeking recognition from others, and to learn to respect individuals with different backgrounds. Adolescents exhibit varying degrees of stigmatization towards mental illness and individuals with mental illness, which results in individuals with mental illness lacking the motivation to seek social support and not knowing how to seek help, leading to greater harm. Based on the research findings, further exploration of how to directly deliver mental health information and moral education courses to adolescents in a more accessible manner will be one of the future research directions 本研究旨在應用現象學探討澳門中學生對精神疾患者的態度。研究背景指出，自疫情爆發以來，精神疾患者的人數急劇上升，然而精神疾患及精神疾患者一直受到污名化、歧視和孤立。在這樣的社會氛圍下，精神疾患者被迫隱藏自己，感到羞恥，有些人為了融入社會而拒絕尋求援助。為了深入了解澳門中學生對精神疾患者的態度， 本研究使用了焦點小組訪談的方法，共有九位參與研究者參與。研究結果顯示，在九位參與研究者中，只有 1 位表示願意和精神疾患者一同學習、交友及共同作業，而其他 8 位在不同程度上拒絕與精神疾患者接觸。此外，這些參與研究者對患者持有刻板印象、污名化和歧視態度。他們的共同特點是對精神疾患缺乏了解，也不會主動了解精神疾患及復康資訊，并表示與自身無關。研究結果反映出青少年認為精神疾患與自身無關，因此不會主動了解相關資訊，並呈現出二元對立的思考方式和對精神疾患者的排他性。根據柯爾伯格的道德理論，青少年為了擁護自身群體而排斥其他群體，反映現在處於道德層次的第三及第四層，然而青少年需要持續培養道德及其思辨能力， 以至能在獲得他人認同時既不損害他人的權益，以及學習尊重不同人士。青少年對精神疾患及精神疾患者存在不同程度的污名化，這導致患有精神疾患的人缺乏尋求社會支援的動機，也不知道如何尋求幫助，這帶來更大的危害性。根據研究結果，進一步探討如何將精神健康資訊和道德培養課程直接傳達給青少年，以提高其可及性，將是未來研究的方向之一。In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Social Work in the Faculty of health Sciences University of Saint Joseph, Macao, 2024Supervisor : Lou Chi Kin

• Master Dissertations
  • Faculty of Health Sciences
    • Social Work