ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2026
Public stigma of mental illness in Australia: shifts in attitudes across nationally representative surveys in 2011 and 2024.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Reducing self-stigma and supporting disclosure in adults with mental illness.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- Beyond awareness: 25 years of population data on the impact of Australia's Beyond Blue.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsReducing stigma and discrimination towards people with mental ill-health is a key priority in Australian mental health policy. Population-based surveys conducted in Australia between 2003 and 2011 showed some improvement in stigmatising attitudes, but also a deterioration in attitudes about dangerousness and unpredictability, particularly in relation to schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate whether stigmatising attitudes have changed since the 2011 national survey.
methodsTwo large, nationally representative samples of Australian adults were surveyed in 2011 (
resultsThere were significant reductions in endorsement of stigmatising attitudes towards depression and early schizophrenia. Notably, there were large reductions in beliefs about dangerousness (depression 22.5-4.8% and schizophrenia 37.1-18.1%). Conversely, the willingness to interact with a person with depression remained unchanged and had worsened for schizophrenia, with the odds of being unwilling to interact approximately doubling (11.0-26.9% unwilling to make friends and 18.8-33.2% unwilling to work closely with them).
conclusionsThe data show mixed findings regarding change in stigma in the Australian population. Despite negative beliefs diminishing over time, this has not translated into greater willingness to interact with people with depression or schizophrenia. Key action is needed on understanding the barriers to interacting with people with mental health conditions and reducing perceptions of unpredictability, particularly for schizophrenia, which remains more highly stigmatised.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.