Table 3.
Frequency distribution of items of self-stigma among caregivers of people with mental illness in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, southwest Ethiopia, 2012
| Item | Yes N (%) |
No N (%) |
|---|---|---|
| You worried whether people would find out about (NAME)’s condition? | 163 (38.63) | 259 (61.37) |
| You worried that your neighbors would treat you differently? | 148 (35.07) | 274 (64.93) |
| You sometimes felt the need to hide (NAME)’s illness? | 153 (36.26) | 269 (63.74) |
| You kept (his/her) illness a secret? | 153 (36.26) | 269 (63.74) |
| You worried that friends and neighbors would avoid you after they found out about it? | 125 (29.62) | 297 (70.38) |
| You didn’t see some of your friends as often as you did before? | 99 (23.46) | 323 (76.54) |
| You avoided going to large social events with (NAME)? | 153 (36.26) | 269 (63.74) |
| You worried that even your best friends would treat you differently? | 112 (26.54) | 310 (73.46) |
| You felt ashamed or embarrassed about (NAME)’s illness? | 156 (36.97) | 266 (63.03) |
| Have you avoided making friends because you have a relative who is mentally ill living with you? | 65 (15.40) | 357 (84.60) |
| Do you feel that you are less responsible and caring than family/relatives without mental illness? | 70 (16.59) | 352 (83.41) |
| Do you feel that most people look down on you since you have a family member who is mentally ill? | 113 (26.78) | 309 (73.22) |
| Do you feel that most people treat families with a member who is mentally ill in the same way they treat other families? | 113 (26.78) | 309 (73.22) |
| You worried that most people blame parents for the mental illness of their children? | 111 (26.30) | 311 (73.70) |
| Have you ever avoided being a member of a social gathering because you have a family member with mental illness? | 46 (10.90) | 376 (89.10) |