Table 2 Factor structure in the 15-item version, n = 1305

Factor 1: Attitudes of health care providers towards people with mental illness

I am more comfortable helping a person who has a physical illness than I am helping a person who has a mental illness. (1 of 20)

Despite my professional beliefs, I have negative reactions towards people who have mental illness. (12 of 20)

There is little I can do to help people with mental illness. (13 of 20)

More than half of people with mental illness don’t try hard enough to get better. (14 of 20)

Health care providers do not need to be advocates for people with mental illness. (18 of 20)

I struggle to feel compassion for a person with a mental illness. (20 of 20)

Factor 2: Disclosure/help-seeking

If I were under treatment for a mental illness I would not disclose this to any of my colleagues. (Item 4 of 20)

I would see myself as weak if I had a mental illness and could not fix it myself. (6 of 20)

I would be reluctant to seek help if I had a mental illness. (7 of 20)

If I had a mental illness, I would tell my friends. (10 of 20)²

Factor 3: Social Distance

If a colleague with whom I work told me they had a managed mental illness, I would be as willing to work with him/her. (3 of 20)²

Employers should hire a person with a managed mental illness if he/she is the best person for the job. (8 of 20)²

I would still go to a physician if I knew that the physician had been treated for a mental illness. (9 of 20)²

I would not want a person with a mental illness, even if it were appropriately managed, to work with children. (17 of 20)

I would not mind if a person with a mental illness lived next door to me. (19 of 20)²