A comparative study on attitudes towards mental illness

Background Mental illnesses are associated with stigma with associated unfavorable societal attitudes.Aims To study the attitudes of people towards mental illness.Methods The attitude of caregivers of persons with mental illness & also lay public was assessed on instruments.Results A favorable attitude towards mental illnesses was found in the sample. Caregivers had more positive attitudethan the lay public.Conclusion Knowledge of the prevailing attitudes of people towards mental illness helps in adopting methods to makethese attitudes more positive, which helps in better outcome & recovery.