Factors affecting stigma toward suicide and depression: A Korean nationwide study

Résumé

textbfBACKGROUND: Suicide attempts and depression are considerably misunderstood by Korean society. Studies regarding factors should provide basic information concerning the factors that should be considered when examining stigmatization. textbfAIM: This study aimed to investigate sociodemographic factors related to the social stigma toward people with a history of suicide attempts or depression in a Korean nationwide community sample. textbfMETHOD: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants selected via a multi-stage cluster sampling method; 779 respondents completed Link's Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination (PDD) scale to assess the social stigma they attached to suicide attempts, and another 743 completed PDD scale to assess the social stigma they attached to depression. Multiple regression analysis, including socioeconomic and psychiatric variables, was performed to identify the factors predictive of social stigma. textbfRESULTS: Results of multiple regressions revealed that age (beta = .12