The relationship between demographic factors and familiarity and attitudes towards mental illness

Leung, Wing Lam (2025) The relationship between demographic factors and familiarity and attitudes towards mental illness. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between demographic factors (gender, age, socio-economic status, education level) and familiarity and attitudes towards mental illness and borderline personality disorder in Ireland. Findings indicated that gender and familiarity were significant predictors, with females displaying more negative attitudes compared to males. Higher familiarity was unexpectedly linked to more negative attitudes. SES and education level were not statistically significant predictors, though individuals with higher SES showed more negative attitudes towards general mental illness, while those with lower SES held more negative views on borderline personality disorder. Age was also nonsignificant, though older adults showed a trend towards more negative attitudes. Limitations include a small sample size (N=92) and an over-representation of younger participants and individuals with low familiarity. These findings highlight the need for targeted stigma-reduction interventions and further research on females and individuals with high familiarity towards mental illness.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Supervisors:	Name Email Farrell, Lynn UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Negative attitudes; stigma; demographic factors; mental illness
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA790 Mental Health R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry > Neurology. Diseases of the Nervous System. > Psychiatry > Psychopathology > Personality Disorders. Behaviour Problems.
Divisions:	School of Business (- 2025) > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	10 Nov 2025 11:18
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2025 11:18
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/8899

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