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Table 2 Percentage of Australian and Japanese respondents who 'agree' or 'strongly agree' with each statement from the Perceived stigma scale†

From: Stigma in response to mental disorders: a comparison of Australia and Japan

Social Situation

Depression Vignette

Depression/Suicidal Vignette

Early Schizophrenia Vignette

Chronic Schizophrenia Vignette

Person could snap out of the problem

Australian

58.9 d (55.4%–62.4%)

59.9 d (56.5%–63.2%)

51.6 (48.5%–54.8%)

47.9 a,b (44.4%–51.4%)

Japanese

45.4 * d (41.0%–49.8%)

38.2* (33.9%–42.5%)

37.0* (32.8%–41.2%)

35.4 * a (31.2%–39.6%)

Problem is a sign of personal weakness

Australian

52.6 (49.2–56.0%)

55.2 (51.9%–58.5%)

52.0 (48.7%–55.3%)

51.4 (47.9%–54.9%)

Japanese

58.2 (53.9%–62.5%)

54.2 (49.8%–58.6%)

57.4 (53.1%–61.7%)

57.8 (53.5%–62.1%)

Problem is not a real medical illness

Australian

52.4 (49.1–55.7%)

54.2 (50.9%–57.4%)

47.1 (43.9%–50.4%)

47.4 (44.0%–50.8%)

Japanese

45.0 (40.6%–49.4%)

38.8* (34.5%–43.1%)

38.8 (34.5%–43.1%)

46.2 (41.8%–50.6%)

People with this problem are dangerous

Australian

37.8 c,d (34.5%–41.3%)

42.1 c,d (38.9%–45.4%)

58.5 a,b (55.1%–61.8%)

60.2a,b (56.6%–63.7%)

Japanese

32.6 c,d (28.5%–36.7%)

30.0 * c,d (26.0%–34.0%)

51.4 a,b,d (47.0%–55.8%)

63.6 a,b,c (59.4%–67.8%)

Avoid people with this problem

Australian

35.6d (32.3%–39.0%)

37.3 (34.1%–40.6%)

39.8 (36.5%–43.2%)

46.1a (42.3%–50.0%)

Japanese

32.2 c,d (28.1%–36.3%)

30.2 c,d (26.2%–34.2%)

51.4 * a,b (47.0%–55.8%)

59.0 * a,b (54.7%–63.3%)

People with this problem are unpredictable

Australian

65.6 c,d (62.3%–68.8%)

68.7 c,d (65.5%–71.8%)

78.4 a,b (75.3%–81.2%)

82.5 a,b (79.6%–85.1%)

Japanese

35.8 * c,d (31.6%–40.0%)

36.4 * c,d (32.2%–40.6%)

58.6 * a,b (54.3%–62.9%)

67.4 * a,b (63.3%–71.5%)

If they had this problem most people wouldn't tell anyone

Australian

63.1 (59.8%–66.3%)

67.1 (63.8%–70.2%)

67.7 (64.3%–70.9%)

71.4 (68.0%–74.6%)

Japanese

37.8 * c,d (33.5%–42.1%)

35.2 * c,d (31.0%–39.4%)

49.8 * a,b (45.4%–54.2%)

48.4 * a,b (44.0%–52.8%)

Most people would not employ someone with this problem

Australian

69.1 d (66.1%–72.0%)

72.3 d (69.1%–75.3%)

76.7 d (73.6%–79.5%)

85.2 a,b,c (82.6%–87.4%)

Japanese

65.6 b,d (61.4%–69.8%)

55.2 * a,c,d (50.8%–59.6%)

72.8 b (68.9%–76.7%)

79.2 a,b (75.6%–82.8%)

Most people would not vote for a politician with this problem

Australian

69.0 d (65.9%–72.0%)

70.8 d (67.5%–73.8%)

76.6 (73.6%–79.5%)

83.7 a,b (81.0%–86.1%)

Japanese

73.6 b,d (69.7%–77.5%)

63.6 a,c,d (59.4%–67.8%)

72.0 b,d (68.1%–75.9%)

82.0 a,b,c (78.6%–85.4%)

  1. †symbols flagging table entries denote a small (Cohen's h ≥ 0.2) to moderate (Cohen's h ≥ 0.5) effect size relative to a depression; b depression with suicidal ideation; cearly schizophrenia; dchronic schizophrenia; *Australian prevalence.
  2. Unbolded symbols indicate a small effect size. Bolded symbols denote a moderate effect size.