Research Proposal

I. Title of Project

Attitudes of High School Students towards Mental Illness

II.  Statement of Purpose

           

The objective of my project is to study the attitudes of High School students towards people with mental illness. Because Asian populations are greatly understudied in this area of work, I will specifically focus my study on the South Asian population and do a comparison study with other ethnicities. Showing how prominent stigma is our in society and to raising mental health awareness is the cornerstone of my project.

III. Background

           

For the past several decades, much research has been documented on the stigma of mental illness in adults and it has been identified as one of the most important issues currently facing the mental health field. Stigma refers to the undesirable characteristics linked to mental illness and the adverse cognitive and behavioral consequences. The stigmatization of mental illness leads to marginalization of vulnerable individuals, influences both the availability and access of appropriate treatment, and exacerbates the already devastating effects of mental illness. 

IV.  Prior Research

Research on stigmatization of mental illness has been extensive and several different instruments have been used to measure attitudes toward patients with mental illness. A study that peaked my interest was “Reducing psychiatric stigma and discrimination: evaluation of educational interventions in UK secondary schools”, in which secondary school students attended two mental health awareness workshops and completed pre- and post-questionnaires detailing knowledge, attitudes and behavioral intentions. The study concluded that short educational workshops could produce positive changes in participants’ reported attitudes towards people with mental health problems.

V. Significance

Over the last decade, stigma reduction has become an increasingly important topic for research, public health campaigns, clinical care, advocacy, and policy development. The goal of my project is to raise awareness and understanding about mental health problems as well as break down the data by ethnicity and age. My primary reason for focusing my study on Asian Americans is because they are a severely understudied population in this area of interest. The goal of this project is not only to determine if there is a correlation between different ages and ethnicities and their view on mental illness, but also to show how prominent stigma is in society and to raise mental health awareness.

VI. Research Design and Methods

I will be giving participants scales/questionnaires that will evaluate their attitude towards mental illness. I will also use the scales to identify any stigma and to what degree.

VII. Limitations

Although I do not foresee many significant problems occurring, the sample size for the experiment might be a limitation. In the event of any difficulties I will work through it with my on-site mentor and my BASIS advisor to see that we will overcome any issues that may arise.

VIII. Bibliography

1. Melissa D. Pinto, Ronald L. Hickman, and Tami L. Thomas. “Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH): An Examination Among Adolescent Girls” (2015)

2. Christina Streich Villanueva, Shari Hughes Scott, Cathie E. Guzzetta, and Barbara Foster.“Development and Psychometric Testing of the Attitudes Toward Mental Illness in Pediatric Patients Scale” (2009)

3. Emer Day. “Public Attitudes Toward Mental Illness: Development o f an Attitude Assessment Scale” (2004)

4. Pinfold, Vanessa. “Reducing psychiatric stigma and discrimination: evaluation of educational interventions in UK secondary schools” (2003)

5. Wahl, Otto. “Knowledge and Attitudes About Mental Illness: A Survey of Middle School Students” (2008-2009)

6. Pejovic Milovancevic, Milica. “CHANGING ATTITUDES OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS PEERS WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS” (2009)

7. Spagnolo, Amy “Reducing Stigma by Meeting and Learning from People with Mental Illness”(2008)