Mental disorders, growing prejudice and more fragile young people in front of social media
In just three years, the percentage of those who consider psychiatric illness curable has fallen, while 36% of Italians would be ashamed to have a problem and almost half of those under 35 consider diversity a risk
3' min read
3' min read
Almost four out of ten people are ashamed at the idea of having a mental disorder, while the perception of vulnerability grows among young people aged 14 to 24, who are considered to be more at risk (from 39% in the previous survey three years ago to 47% today), in a context in which the percentage of those who consider mental illness treatable drops from 66% to 60% and the level of stigma remains high. And social media, mirror and virtual courtyard, do not help. On the contrary.
Prejudice wins
.Drawing a picture of increased prejudices towards mental health, but also of insecurities linked to social media, is the survey conducted by Doxa for the fourth edition of the Festival of Mental Health Ro.Mens, organised by the ASL Roma 2 from 1 to 7 October - with a photographic exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art in the capital - precisely to enhance inclusion and combat stigma. "A mission that is as necessary as ever," comments Mental Health Department Director Massimo Cozza, "given the percentages that are almost all on the rise since the last survey in 2022. We see a worrying picture of the persistence and worsening of prejudice towards people with mental disorders'.
"The research," emphasises Silvia Castagna, Head of Institutional Relations and Large Clients at Doxa, "confirms that stigma is growing and social media are weighing ever more heavily on the well-being of young people: we need more digital and AI literacy, as envisaged in Article 4 of the new AI legislation, diversity education and sentiment education to reverse the trend.
I tell the specialist
.The only counter-trend was trust in specialists: 76% of those interviewed in a representative sample of one thousand people aged between 18 and 65 would prefer to talk to a professional if they had a mental disorder: a psychologist, counsellor or psychiatrist, but 58% would confide in their family, while one in three would turn to friends and acquaintances and only one in 10 would turn to an online platform or an anonymous forum, and just under 8% would think of a religious or spiritual figure.
Increasing distances
.For the rest, the road is all or almost uphill: compared to data from the first edition of Ro.Mens in 2022, people with mental distress are considered more dangerous to themselves (from 65% to 72%), and to others (from 48% to 55%), more aggressive and violent (from 55% to 63%) and less respectful of shared rules (from 49% to 55%).
