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Desire for social distance towards mentally ill people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

K. Evangelia ,
A. Argyriadis ,
S. Kotrotsiou  and
E. Asimakopoulou
K. Evangelia*
Affiliation:
Nursing, Frederick University, Nicosia, Cyprus
A. Argyriadis
Affiliation:
Nursing, Frederick University, Nicosia, Cyprus
S. Kotrotsiou
Affiliation:
Nursing, University of Patras, Patra, Greece
E. Asimakopoulou
Affiliation:
Nursing, Frederick University, Nicosia, Cyprus
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Familiarity with, social distance from people with mental illness and socio - demographic characteristics has been linked to conditions that lead to weaker prejudiced beliefs and a more positive opinion about mental illness.

Objectives

The relation of the attitudes and perceptions of the citizens of Larissa city towards mental illness and their desire for social distance from the mentally ill people, in relation to their familiarity with mental illness and their demographic characteristics.

Methods

A convenience sampling survey was conducted in Greece, Larissa City (n=220). The research tools which were used were: a) Familiarity was assessed using the Level of Contact Report, b) The Social Distance Scale, to measure the desire for social distance from people with mental illness c) Attitudes about mental illness were assessed using The Opinions About Mental Illness (OMI) Questionnaire and finally d) a questionnaire for the socio - demographic information.

Results

Univariate and multivariate analysis was applied for the statistical analysis of the data, which showed that: Desire for social distance from people with mental illness is positively related with the familiarity (with mental illness) but on the other hand is negatively related to the opinions / attitudes about mental illness.

Conclusions

The results from this study highlight and emphasize the important role of familiarity (with mental illness) and the desire for social distance (from people with mental illness) in the formation of positive/negative (prejudiced) attitudes and perceptions about mental illness.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

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Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S780
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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