Abstract (300 words maximum)
Critical world-wide health issues have heightened an awareness of the correlation between physical and subsequent mental health illness. Reuters (2020) report that one in five COVID-19 patients in London developed mental illness within 90 days. These and other findings (NIMH, 2020) have hastened a movement toward globalization and cross-cultural research of mental health in higher education.
Recent literature suggested that public attitudes about mental health vary depending on education level and expressed comfort in interacting with an intellectually disabled person (Slater et al., 2020). Kotera et al. (2020) found significant differences between Netherlanders and Japanese participants in what they considered a mental health issue. Carson (2018) found a significant relationship between perception of mental illness, counseling, and university classification among African American college students.
The WHO and NIMH in 2020 stressed the need for research on global mental health issues affecting societies. In the U. S., suicide is ranked tenth in the leading cause of death and second among people aged 10-34 years (CDC, 2018). According to Medical News Today (2019), many experiencing suicide ideation have a mental health issue. Research establishing a heightened awareness and understanding of such mental health issues could save lives. It is expected that participants who experienced mental health issues personally or vicariously through a family member or cohort will have heightened perceptions and awareness of mental health issues affecting self-concept.
The purpose of this study is to investigate potential differences in mental health attitudes between cultures. Participants were students from Kennesaw State University (KSU) and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias in Peru (UPC). Students were administered the Community Attitudes to Mental Illness (CAMI) and Semantic Differential Scale (SD). Additional analysis will explore the relationship between demographics collected from the participants and scores on the CAMI and SD scales.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Psychological Science
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Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Chris Ziegler
Additional Faculty
Dr. Gail Scott, Psychology, gscott12@kennesaw.edu Dr. Patrick Devine, Psychology, pdevine@kennesaw.edu
A Comparative Analysis of Self-Concept and Mental Health Attitudes in College Students from the U.S. and Peru
Critical world-wide health issues have heightened an awareness of the correlation between physical and subsequent mental health illness. Reuters (2020) report that one in five COVID-19 patients in London developed mental illness within 90 days. These and other findings (NIMH, 2020) have hastened a movement toward globalization and cross-cultural research of mental health in higher education.
Recent literature suggested that public attitudes about mental health vary depending on education level and expressed comfort in interacting with an intellectually disabled person (Slater et al., 2020). Kotera et al. (2020) found significant differences between Netherlanders and Japanese participants in what they considered a mental health issue. Carson (2018) found a significant relationship between perception of mental illness, counseling, and university classification among African American college students.
The WHO and NIMH in 2020 stressed the need for research on global mental health issues affecting societies. In the U. S., suicide is ranked tenth in the leading cause of death and second among people aged 10-34 years (CDC, 2018). According to Medical News Today (2019), many experiencing suicide ideation have a mental health issue. Research establishing a heightened awareness and understanding of such mental health issues could save lives. It is expected that participants who experienced mental health issues personally or vicariously through a family member or cohort will have heightened perceptions and awareness of mental health issues affecting self-concept.
The purpose of this study is to investigate potential differences in mental health attitudes between cultures. Participants were students from Kennesaw State University (KSU) and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias in Peru (UPC). Students were administered the Community Attitudes to Mental Illness (CAMI) and Semantic Differential Scale (SD). Additional analysis will explore the relationship between demographics collected from the participants and scores on the CAMI and SD scales.