Table 2 Summary of study characteristics from youth-assessments of stigma in India

Abraham et al., 2014 [33]

Nomophobia - fear of being without or being unable to use one’s phone

18–23

NR

Karnataka

College students

K

89% had poor knowledge

–

–

Aggarwal et al., 2016 [34]

Mental illness

20.5

54.7

Delhi

Medical, psychology & other college students

KAB

Causes of mental illness - genetic, brain damage; God’s punishment, stress, biological factors and physical and sexual abuse

Mentally ill tend to be ‘mentally retarded’ and of low intelligence; need prescription drugs to control; marriage or psychotherapy can successfully treat mental illness

Majority would not maintain a friendship and would feel ashamed if they were related to a person with mental illness

Ahuja et al., 2017 [35]

Mental illness

18–21

54

Delhi-National Capital Region

College students of History, English,

Business and Journalism

A

–

15% negatively labelled mental health problems and 77% used negative descriptions such as ‘stubborn, untidy and unclean’

–

Bell et al., 2010 [36]

Mental illness

20/19–23

57

Maharashtra

Pharmacy

AB

–

Perception that people will never recover

18.75+/− 3.57

Bell et al., 2008 [37]

Epilepsy

21/19–24

58

Maharashtra

Pharmacy

A

–

People with depression will never recover and people with schizophrenia will never recover

–

Bhise et al., 2016 [38]

Mental illness

21.9 (0.7); 20.6 (0.8)

44.6;88.3

Maharashtra

Psychiatry and physiotherapy

A

–

3.3–3.4 (0.94, Kruskal Wallis p = 0.3)

–

Chawla et al., 2012 [39]

Mental illness

20.2 (1.63)

30.9

NR

Undergraduate medical students

KA

Mental illness - occurs among people who have excessive emotions (66%) or are lonely (52%); is caused by past sins/evil spirits (16%); is not treatable (7%).

46% felt fear, anger or hatred when they met a psychiatric patient

D’Sa et al., 2016 [40]

Substance use

< 18

NR

Mangalore, Karnataka

School students and college students

K

58% knew where people can access alcohol

–

–

Etzersdorfer et al., 1998 [41]

Suicide

18.4

51.5

Chennai, India

Medical students

A

–

70% said suicide by someone most near was cowardly; 37% said it was deliberate

18% would likely commit suicide because they had a mental illness

Gulati et al., 2014 [42]

Mental illness

20.3

57.3

North India

Medical students (yr. 1 and 2) and interns - upper middle class and middle class

KA

29–65% felt that people with mental illness are easy to recognize, and are different from patients suffering from other illness

68% felt that persons with mental illness should not be treated in the same hospital with people with physical illness.

65–75% prefer locking such patients.

–

Hiremath & Wale, 2017 [43]

Adjustment problems

22–25

70

Tumkur, Karnataka

Third-year B.Sc. Nursing students

KA

15% had poor knowledge about adjustment problems

20% had negative attitudes regarding adjustment problems

Joshi et al., 2012 [44]

Epilepsy

14–16

33.2

Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

School students

KAB

Cause of epilepsy: 36% did not know that epilepsy is a brain disorder. 5% believed that epilepsy is infectious.

69% felt that epilepsy can be cured. 4% felt it can be treated by a spiritual healer.

Perceived causes for epilepsy: inherited (71%), non-vegetarian diet (49%), evil spirits (5%).

40% believed that average IQ of an epileptic patient is less than a normal person. Most (89%) of the students felt pity/sad for an epileptic patient, and 37% of them thought that an epileptic patient is dangerous.

72% thought that children with epilepsy should study in a special school.

During a seizure, 51.5% of the students would take the person to the hospital, 23.43% would throw water on the person and 22.69% would make the person smell a shoe or an onion.

Kalra, 2012 [61]

Mental illness

NR

NR

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Psychiatry trainees

A

–

Society stereotyping psychiatrists as ‘mad doctors’

Other medical colleagues do not take them seriously and they felt ‘stigmatized along with the psychiatric patients’

–

Kodakandla et al., 2016 [45]

Mental illness

23.2 years (1.06)

81.25

Hyderabad, Telangana

Participants wereInterns, who completed their psychiatry rotation

KA

31% believed that psychological illness is unlikely to becured regardless of the treatment. 76% believed that psychological disorder is recurrent. 68% were of the opinion that people who have once received psychologicaltreatment are likely to need further treatment in the future.

76% believed that a mentally ill person is more likely to harm others.

62% believed that it may be difficult for mentally ill patients to follow social rules and that they are less likely to function well as parents (63%). 82% believe that mentally ill patients should have a job with minor responsibilities. 79% felt that behaviour of patients with psychologicaldisorder is unpredictable.

Madhan et al., 2012 [46]

Mental illness

NR

NR

Guntur, India

Dental students

A

–

Regard was the highest for persons with intellectualdisability, followed by acute mental illness, and substance misuse.

–

Mahto et al., 2009 [47]

Mental illness

18–35

50

Ranchi, Jharkhand

postgraduate department college

A

–

Females had more neutral attitudes compared to males, although no significant difference overall.

–

Mehrotra et al., 2013 [62]

Mental illness

21(2.3)/ 17–30

59

NR

Graduate and undergraduate college students

K

Mental health defined positively, although cognitive functioning was stressed.

–

–

Nebhinani et al., 2017 [48]

Suicide

21.9

46

Rohtak, Haryana

Final year medical students

A

–

23% perceived that people with serious suicidal intent do not talk about it. Suicide as attention-seeking.

–

Nebhinani et al., 2013 [49]

Substance use

16.57 (1.63); 19.49 (1.24)

49 and 38%

Chandigarh

College and school students

KA

More college studentsconsidered substance related harm as temporary (7%vs. 1%); 26% considered no treatmentfor substance use.

15% had negative attitude towards substance abusers (labelled them ‘bad people’and added that they should not be helped). and 81% felt that subjects may quit substance with willpower, despite a longer duration of intake.

–

Poreddi et al., 2016 [50]

Mental illness

20.9 (1.7)

80.9

Bangalore, Karnataka

Medical and nursing undergraduates after a psychiatry course

A

–

People with mental illness - should have limited input in to deciding medication to be used (44%); can’t handle too much responsibility (41%).

–

Poreddi et al., 2017 [51]

Mental illness

19.57–20.87

83.9

Bangalore, Karnataka

Medical and nursing undergraduates after completing psychiatry course

AB

–

Medical students reported better attitudes than nursing students regarding stereotyping, restrictiveness, benevolence and pessimistic prediction. Nursing students had better attitude regarding separatism.

Stigmatization among medical students 8.37 ± 2.81) and 9.27 ± 2.48) among nursing students

Poreddi et al., 2015 [52]

Mental illness

20.96 (0.90)

98.3

NR

Nursing undergraduate

A

–

80% said people with mental illness are unpredictable. 71% said they cannot handle too much responsibility, 84% felt they are more likely to commit offences or crimes and 44% believe they are more likely to be violent.

–

Prasad & Theodore, 2016 [53]

Mental illness

NR

82.75

Bangalore, Karnataka

B.Sc. nursing students

K

70% had inadequate knowledge of human rights related to mental illness

–

–

Ram et al., 2017 [54]

Suicide

17–31 (21.80 ± 2.18)

68.7

Mysuru, Karnataka

Undergraduate, postgraduate and interning medical students and paramedical students

KA

36% were unable to identify symptoms of depression; 64% felt that talking about suicide increases risk of suicide, 62% more men commit suicide than women; 65% happens to few people; 52% of people with depression need to be hospitalized.

45.42% would not disclose suicidal ideation; 49.55% - people with mental illness change their mind quickly

Roy et al., 2017 [55]

Substance use

13.6

NR

Patiala, Punjab

Nr

KA

19% did not know that alcohol is a drug. 22% assumedthat smaller doses of alcohol do no harm.

8% expected alcohol to improvetheir sexual activity.

–

Shanthi et al., 2015 [56]

Substance use

14–17

0

Mangalore, Karnataka

School students

K

Regarding alcoholism and its effects: 80% had average knowledge, 17% hadpoor knowledge and 3% had good knowledge

–

–

Sureka et al., 2016 [57]

Epilepsy

NR

NR

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Nursing and medical students

KAB

Causes of epilepsy: epilepsy is a mentalillness (27–40%); birthdefect and blood disorder (25%); family history (21–39%) and supernatural power (5%)

Symptoms of epilepsy: loss ofconsciousness and convulsions (55–58%)

Treatment by allopathic medicine, followed by ayurvedic and homeopathic (40–50%)

Epilepsy is a hindrance in life (50–76%). An “epileptic person” should not marry (25–33%). Among both groups, most participants would like to play/study with epileptic child. 23% thoughtepileptics have committed sins in past life.

During an epileptic attack, majority would take a patient to the hospital and 16%in one group would put water/ shoe/ onion on the person’sface.

Thakur & Olive, 2016 [58]

Nomophobia - fear of being without or being unable to use one’s phone

NR

NR

Jalandhar, Punjab

College students of nursing, technology and engineering

K

68% had poor knowledge of nomophobia

–

–

Thomas et al., 2015 [59]

Substance use

13–15

50

Malkapur, Maharashtra

School students

K

23% had poor knowledge regarding substance use

–

–

Vijayalakshmi et al., 2013 [60]

Mental illness

NR

100

Bangalore, Karnataka

Nursing and management students

KAB

Stereotyping sub-scale: 22% (n = 33) of the nursing and 12% (n = 14) BBM students felt that people with mental illness cannot be easily identified by their behaviour. People with mental illness have a lower IQ according to 35.8% nursing students (n = 95) and 78.3% BBM students (n = 26). More nursing (n = 92, 62.2%) than BBM students (n = 34, 28.3%) accepted that ‘everyone faces the possibility of becoming mentally ill’.

Separatism sub-scale: more nursing students (n = 128, 86.5%) than BBM students (n = 86, 71.7%) would not move out of the community if a mental health facility was set up. More nursing (n = 26, 17.6%) than BBM students (n = 15, 12.5%) disagreed that people with mental illness are violent and dangerous. 76.3% (n = 113) of nursing students compared to 52.5% (n = 63) of BBM students agreed that the ‘mentally ill should be able to have children’. More nursing (n = 69, 46.7%) than BBM students (n = 21, 17.5%) agreed that ‘people with mental illness can hold a job

More nursing students (n = 50, 33.8%) than BBM students (n = 38, 31.6%) felt that the ‘mentally illshould not disclose their illness’. Both nursing (n = 112, 75.7%) and BBM students (n = 82, 68.3%) agreed that they ‘should not laugh at the mentally ill’