Do attitudes towards persons with mental illness worsen during the course of life? An age-period-cohort analysis

Objective Cross‐sectional studies frequently find higher age associated with negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness. We explore whether attitudes worsen over the life span, or follow a cohort pattern. Method Using data from three identical population surveys in Germany from 1990, 200...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 2015-11, Vol.132 (5), p.357-364
Main Authors: Schomerus, G., Van der Auwera, S., Matschinger, H., Baumeister, S. E., Angermeyer, M. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
age-period-cohort analysis
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cohort Studies
Depressive Disorder - epidemiology
Female
Germany - epidemiology
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Mentally Ill Persons
Middle Aged
Schizophrenia - epidemiology
social distance
socio-emotional selectivity hypothesis
stigma
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective Cross‐sectional studies frequently find higher age associated with negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness. We explore whether attitudes worsen over the life span, or follow a cohort pattern. Method Using data from three identical population surveys in Germany from 1990, 2001 and 2011 (combined sample n = 7835), we performed age–period–cohort analyses determining the association of age, time period and birth‐cohort with social distance from a person with either depression (n = 3910) or schizophrenia (n = 3925), using linear and nonlinear partial least squares regression models. Results Social distance increases with age, independent from cohort and period effects, cumulating to an increase of 2.4 (schizophrenia) and 2.3 (depression) on the 28 point social distance scale over the life span (youngest to oldest participant). We found a cohort effect in depression, but not schizophrenia, with decreasing social distance until 1970 and a slight increase in younger cohorts. Period effects were visible particularly in schizophrenia, with growing social distance over time. Conclusion Considering demographic change and the vulnerability of older persons to severe outcomes of mental illness such as suicide, the observed increase of negative attitudes over the life span seems highly relevant. We discuss the role of conservatism and preferences for agreeable social contacts in older age.
ISSN:0001-690X
1600-0447
DOI:10.1111/acps.12401