A Quantitative Study on Vietnamese University Students’ Perceptions of Mental Illness

Minh Tien Le

doi:10.56508/mhgcj.v8i1.312

Authors

Minh Tien Le Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4659-6025

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v8i1.312

Keywords:

Mental illness, People with mental illness, Mental health, Psychiatric illness, Attitudes

Abstract

Introduction: Mental illness is a global issue that affects various population groups, including university students. Gaining insights into students' perspectives on mental illness plays a vital role in fostering mental health awareness and combating stigma in educational environments

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate Vietnamese undergraduate students’ knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of mental illness by focusing on the dimensions: (i) the level of knowledge students possess about the causes and manifestations of mental illness, and (ii) their attitudes towards individuals experiencing mental health problems.

Methodology: Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, this study involved 350 undergraduate students from five universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Data collection was conducted between June and July 2024 and utilized the Perception Towards Persons with Mental Illness (PWMI) Scale adapted from previous studies. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Science software, version 25 (IBM SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA).

Results: The results indicated that approximately 80.6% knew about mental illness, and 70.5% perceived mental illness as a common or quite common phenomenon in Vietnam. Regarding the etiology of mental illness, a significant majority identified "bad things happening to you" as a cause (73.3%), followed by substance abuse (51.4%) and brain disease (50.0%). The findings also revealed that, despite some positive perceptions and attitudes, many responses clustered around the neutral option, particularly for controversial or personal items.

Conclusions: The findings of this study underscore the need for targeted educational interventions to foster more informed and compassionate attitudes towards individuals with mental illness among undergraduate students.

References

Abolfotouh, M. A., Almutairi, A. F., Almutairi, Z., Salam, M., Alhashem, A., Adlan, A. A., & Modayfer, O. (2019). Attitudes toward mental illness, mentally ill persons, and help-seeking among the Saudi public and sociodemographic correlates. Psychology research and behavior management, 12, 45–54. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S191676 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S191676

Al-Adawi, S., Dorvlo, A. S., Al-Ismaily, S. S., Al-Ghafry, D. A., Al-Noobi, B .Z., Al-Salmi, A., Burke, D. T., Shah, M. K., Ghassany, H., & Chand, S. P. (2002). Perception of and Attitude towards Mental Illness in Oman. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 48, 305 - 317. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002076402128783334

Albarqi, M., & Almaqhawi, A. (2022). Knowledge and attitude toward mental illness among the population at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. Family Medicine & Primary Care Review, 24(1), 19-26. https://doi.org/10.5114/fmpcr.2022.113009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/fmpcr.2022.113009

Alexander, L., Rinehart, N. J., Hay, M., Boyd, L., & Foster, K. (2023). Nursing students’ attitudes and experiences with mental illness: A cross-sectional study. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 18(1), 72-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2022.09.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2022.09.011

Al-Naggar, R. A. (2013). Attitudes towards persons with mental illness among university students. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 14(1), 15-24.

Alqassim, A., Makeen, A., Ahmed, A., Alqarny, A., Alrabaee, A., Aboalqasim, A., Ageel, A., Alnami, A., Hassani, M., Hakami, M., Mahfouz, M., & Alharbi, A. (2022). Exploring awareness, attitude, and practices toward mental illnesses: A cross-sectional survey among university students in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 11(8), 4568–4575. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2023_21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2023_21

Barman T. K., Hossan R.& Saha D. (2021). Attitudes towards Mental Illness of the Undergraduate Students. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 9(1), 1547-1555. DIP:18.01.163/20210901, DOI:10.25215/0901.163.

Chang, S., Ong, H. L., Seow, E., Chua, B. Y., Abdin, E., Samari, E., & Subramaniam, M. (2017). Stigma towards mental illness among medical and nursing students in Singapore: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open, 7(12), e018099. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018099

Chikomo J.G. (2011) Knowledge and Attitude of the Kinondoni Community Towards Mental Illness.Dissertation presented to the university of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6562.

Connaughton, J., & Gibson, W. (2016). Physiotherapy Students’ Attitudes toward Psychiatry and Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study. Physiotherapy Canada, 68(2), 172–178. https://doi.org/10.3138/ptc.2015-18E. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/ptc.2015-18E

DeFreitas, S. C., Crone, T., DeLeon, M., & Ajayi, A. (2018). Perceived and personal mental health stigma in Latino and African American College students. Frontiers in Public Health, 6(49). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00049. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00049

Desai, N. D., & Chavda, P. D. (2018). Attitudes of undergraduate medical students toward mentalillnesses and psychiatry. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 7, 50-57. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_87_17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_87_17

Dessauvagie, A. S., Dang, H., Nguyen, T. A. T., & Groen, G. (2021). Mental health of university students in Southeastern Asia: a systematic review. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 34(2–3), 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/10105395211055545. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10105395211055545

Dessoki, H. H., & Hifnawy, T. M. (2009). Beliefs about Mental Illness among University Students in Egypt. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v5i1.284 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v5i1.284

Hieu, L. T. (2018). ?nh h??ng c?a Nho giáo trong v?n hóa Vi?t Nam. T?p chí Khoa h?c xã h?i Vi?t Nam. Available at: http://tapchikhxh.vass.gov.vn/anh-huong-cua-nho-giao-trong-van-hoa-viet-nam-n50206.html

Islam, M., & Rakib, M. M. I. (2020). Awareness of Students About Mental Health: A Study on the Students of Universities. Available at SSRN 3777216.

Kamimura, A., Trinh, H. N., Johansen, M., Hurley, J., Pye, M., Sin, K., & Nguyen, H. (2018). Perceptions of mental health and mental health services among college students in Vietnam and the United States. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 37, 15-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2018.07.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2018.07.012

Le, N. (2022). 15 mln Vietnamese afflicted with mental illnesses: health ministry. Available at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/15-mln-vietnamese-afflicted-with-mental-illnesses-health-ministry-4522048.html

Lima-Smit, B., Nel, K., & Setwaba, M. (2022). Cultural knowledge and perceptions of students towards mental illness in South Africa. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 32(4), 400–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2022.2066367. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2022.2066367

Mace, G., & Pétry, F. (2013). C?m nang xây d?ng d? án nghiên c?u trong khoa h?c xã h?i. Tri th?c.

Mahboub, S. M., Aleyadhi, R. A., Aldrees, R. I., & Almuhanna, S. S. (2020). Knowledge and attitude towards mental illness among health and non-health university students in Riyadh. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 8(10), 3497–3502. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20204223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20204223

Melkam, M., Nakie, G., Takelle, G. M., Wassie, L. A., & Shumet, S. (2024). Medical student’s attitude toward severe mental illness and its associated factors at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Heliyon, 10(20). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39512. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39512

Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). (2022). Decision No. 1442/Q?-BGD?T on the Mental Health Education Program for Children and Students for the 2022-2025 period. Available from: https://luatvietnam.vn/giao-duc/quyet-dinh-1442-qd-bgddt-bo-giao-duc-va-dao-tao-222296-d1.html.

Poreddi, V., BIrudu, R., Thimmaiah, R., & Math, S. B. (2015). Mental health literacy among caregivers of persons with mental illness: A descriptive survey. Journal of neurosciences in rural practice, 6(3), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-3147.154571. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-3147.154571

Rees, A., Cuthbert, C., Shah, V., Rong, L., Peh, D., Baptista, A., & Smith, S. (2023). Medical student perceptions of mental illness: a cross-sectional transnational study in two medical schools. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 981. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04962-2

Riffel, T., & Chen, S.-P. (2020). Exploring the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavioural Responses of Healthcare Students towards Mental Illnesses - A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010025

Sadik, S., Bradley, M., Al-Hasoon, S., & Jenkins, R. (2010). Public perception of mental health in Iraq. International journal of mental health systems, 4, 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-4-26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-4-26

Shammari, M., Waggas, D. S., & Hasan, A. A. (2020). Assessment of nursing students’ attitudes and stigma towards mental illness: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 10(9). https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v10n9p1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v10n9p1

Shehata W. M., & Abdeldaim D. E. (2020). Stigma toward Mental Illness Among Tanta University Students, Egypt. Community Ment Health J., 56(3), 464-470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00502-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00502-9

Sreeraj, V. S., Parija, S., Uvais, N. A., Mohanty, S., & Kumar, S. (2017). Indian nursing students’ attitudes toward mental illness and persons with mental illness. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 26(2), 223. https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_25_16 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_25_16

Ünal, S., Hisar, F., Çelik, B., & Özgüven, Z. (2010). Beliefs of university students on mental illness. Dusunen Adam Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 23(3), 145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5350/DAJPN2010230301t

Vijayalakshmi, P., Reddy, D., Math S., & Thimmaiah, R. (2013). Attitudes of undergraduates towards mental illness: A comparison between nursing and business management students in India. South African Journal of Psychiatry, 19(3). doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v19i3.398. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v19i3.398

World Health Organization (WHO). (2022). World mental health report: transforming mental health for all. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/356119/9789240049338-eng.pdf?sequence=1).

Zolezzi, M., Bensmail, N., Zahrah, F., Khaled, S. M., & El-Gaili, T. (2017). Stigma associated with mental illness: perspectives of university students in Qatar. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 13, 1221–1233. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S132075. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S132075