PSYCHIATRY NURSING JOURNAL

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Vol. 5, No.1, March 2023 article distributed
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http://dx.doi.org/10.20473/pnj.v2.i3.35187

Original Research
THE COMMUNITY ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR TOWARDS PEOPLE
LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Kartika Febry Ana

Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta , Central Java, Indonesia

ARTICLE HISTORY ABSTRACT

Received: April 22, 2022
Introduction: Mental health is still a significant problem in the world, because health is
Revised: Mei 24, 2022
Accepted: November 25, not only seen as free from disease but also includes all aspects of human life, physical,
2022 emotional, social and spiritual. The purpose of this study is to describe the attitudes and
Available online: March 01, behavior of individuals in patients with mental disorders in the community.
2023 Method: This study used a quantitative descriptive design. The population in this study
were people in three RWs in one urban village of Surakarta with a total of 4,465 people.
The sample used in this study was 99 respondents using a simple random sampling. The
analysis used is univariate analysis with a central tendency. The instrument used
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
individual characteristics, attitudes and behavior towards mental patients
Kartika Febry Ana
kartikafebrya@gmail.com Results: Based on the results of research on 99 respondents, it was found that the
Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan, characteristics of the majority of respondents were female (64,6%), age 36-45 years
Universitas Muhammadiyah (38,4%), being high school education level (53,5%) and the majority working as laborers
Surakarta, Central Java, (23,2%). The attitude of respondents to patients with mental disorders is negative or less
Indonesia supportive (52,52%), while the behavior of respondents to patients with mental
disorders is considered less good (79,8%).
Conclusions: The community still had negative attitude and poor behavior toward
people living with mental illness. This result indicated the need for intervention and
promotion about mental illness in the community setting.

Keyword: attitude; behavior; community; individual; mental illness

Ana, K. F. (2023). The Community Attitudes And Behavior Towards People Living With
Cite this as: Mental Illness: A Descriptive Study.Psych. Nurs. J., 5(1). 1-6. doi.org/
10.20473/pnj.v2.i3.35187

1. INTRODUCTION population, the number of people with mental

disorders continues to increase every year and has an
Mental illness is still a significant problem in the impact on increasing the burden on the state and
world. Global statistics show that mental illness is one decreasing human productivity for the long term in
of the three most common diseases in the world the future.
because there are about 12% to 15% of the global Based on the 2018 Basic Health Research
population suffering from mental illness, this is (Riskesdas) in Indonesia, it shows that 300,000
higher than heart disease and disability, and even people or 7 per 1,000 population experience mental
twice as high as cancer (Muhlisin & Pratiwi, 2017). disorders, in Central Java alone there are around 9%
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data of the population experiencing mental disorders
in 2016 (in the Ministry of Health, 2016), there are (Kementerian Kesehatan Rakyat Indonesia, 2018),
about 35 million people affected by depression, 60 while at the Pajang Health Center in Surakarta in
million people affected by bipolar, 21 million affected 2019 there were 107 people with mental disorders in
by schizophrenia, and 47.5 million affected by the area with a description in Pajang village there are
dementia. Indonesia with various biological, 50 people with mental disorders, in Sondakan village
psychological, and social factors with a diverse there are 38 people with mental disorders, in

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K. F. ANA, ET AL.

Laweyan village there is 1 person with mental behavior of an individual in patients with mental
disorders and in Karangasem village there are 18 disorders who live in the community.
people living with mental illness.
According to the Law of the Republic of
Indonesia No. 18 of 2014, Mental Health is a condition 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
that allows an individual to develop physically, 2.1 Design
mentally, spiritually and socially so that the This research was quantitative descriptive research
individual is aware of his own abilities, can cope with with cross-sectional approach. A descriptive
pressure, can work productively, and is able to research aims to describe important events that
contribute to his community (Ministry of Health, occur in the present systematically and emphasize
2014). The high number of people living with mental factual rather than inference (Nursalam, 2015).
illness creates a stigma in society. According to 2.2 Population and sampling
Michaels et al., (2017), stigma is a form of aberration The population is the whole thing whose
of judgment and negative behavior that occurs characteristics allow it to be studied (Surahman et
because patients with mental disorders do not have a al., 2016). The population in a study is the
skill or ability to interact and pose dangers that may appropriate subject and meets the criteria set by the
be caused. researcher (Nursalam, 2015). That way, the
An individual or society has a unique social population in this study is the community in 3
process, namely a perception and an attitude that is district, totaling 4,465 residents (Population
shown, this process comes from the experiences and Recapitulation Data in 2015). The inclusion criteria
different values of each individual so that they make in this study was the sample live around people
them think. Individual stigma in people living with living with mental illness.
mental illness is one of them, each individual has The sample in this study amounted to 99
different attitudes and perceptions in viewing people respondents which was chosen by a simple random
living with mental illness individually and their sampling. A technique that does not provide equal
families. In society, people living with mental illness opportunities or opportunities for each element or
still experience different views and are ostracized member of the population to be selected as a sample
from the community, making it difficult for their (Sugiyono, 2015).
recovery process and their welfare (Fitryasari et al., 2.3 Variable
2018; Tristiana et al., 2018). As a result of this stigma, Variable is an understanding of the size or
people living with mental illness suffers from health characteristics that exist in members of a group that
and socio-cultural consequences such as: inadequate are not owned or different from other groups
handling, drop-out of drug use, shackles and a (Notoatmodjo, 2014). Thus the variables studied in
different understanding of mental disorders (Lestari this study are individual attitudes and behavior
& Wardhani, 2014). toward people living with mental illness.
Prior study found that the stigma created by 2.4 Instrument
the community towards people living with mental Research instruments are commonly referred to as
illness indirectly caused families or communities data collection tools that are arranged to obtain
around them to be reluctant to provide appropriate appropriate results (Notoatmodjo, 2014). The data
treatment for people living with mental illness. So collection instrument used in this study was a
that, it often results in people living with mental questionnaire, which was divided into three. The
illness not treated properly (Asti et al., 2016). The first questionnaire contains data on individual
causes of the emergence of stigma are divided due to characteristics that contain gender, age, education
several things including beliefs originating from level and job.
religion and culture which have an influence on the The second questionnaire is about individual
emergence of stigma against people living with attitudes toward people living with mental illness.
mental illness, minimal knowledge about mental The individual attitudes toward people living with
health has an effect on the emergence of stigma, mental illness was obtained by giving 11 questions
misinformation related to mental health received by with answers using a Likert scale then processed to
individuals from their environment also affects find out the T score of the questionnaire. The
stigma on people living with mental illness and attitude of the respondents could be said to be
minimal experience with people living with mental positive or supportive if the T score obtained from
illness also lead to the emergence of stigma from the questionnaire was greater than the average.
society. The higher the stigma experienced, the more The third questionnaire is about individual
disrupted the recovery process for people living with behavior toward people living with mental illness.
mental illness will be, which can take the form of The respondent's behavior toward people living
neglecting people living with mental illness without with mental illness were obtained by giving 9
medical treatment and even causing shackles to be questions with a Likert scale answers. The data then
carried out by family members of people living with processed to find out the standard deviation (SD)
mental illness themselves (Herdiyanto et al., 2017).
This study aimed to describe the attitudes and

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 PSYCHIATRY NURSING JOURNAL

Table 1. Frequency Distribution of Respondents Characteristics

Characteristics of Respondents Total Percentage (%)
Gender Man 35 35,4
Woman 64 64,6
Age (years) 17-25 15 15,2
26-35 36 36,4
36-45 38 38,4
46-55 10 10,1
Education Elementary School 5 5,2
Middle School 26 26,3
High School 53 53,5
College 15 15,2
Profession Unemployed / not working 10 10,1
Farmer 4 4,0
Laborer 23 23,2
Trader 19 19,2
Self-employed 17 17,2
Civil servant 9 9,1
Other jobs 17 17,2

Table 2. Individual attitudes and behavior toward people living with mental illness
Variable n % Lowest Highest Average SD
Score Score
Individual Attitude 13,50 68,09 50,0
Possitive/Supportive Attitude 47 47,48
Negative/unsupportive Attitude 52 52,52
12 33 23,27 5,105
Individual Behavior
Good 9 9,09
Enough 11 11,1
Poor 79 79,8

which is added to the average question from the confidentiality of the respondents was maintained
questionnaire. The respondent's behavior by writing their initials on the questionnaire.
interpreted to be good when the score is greater
than the average score added standard deviation. 3 RESULTS
The average good behavior is obtained when the
3.1 The Respondents’ Characteristics
results are less than equal to and more than equal to
Table 1 shows that the majority of respondents are
the average added standard deviation. The poor
female with a total of 64 (64.6%), male respondents is
behavior obtained when the score is lower than the
35 (5.4%), aged 36-45 years as many as 38 people
average plus standard deviation.
(38.4%), had high school level of education as many
2.5 Analysis
as 53 people (53.5%). As for the characteristics of
Univariate analysis aims to define each variable
respondents based on occupation, the majority work
studied in the form of a frequency distribution
as laborers as many as 23 people or 23.2%,
(Syahdrajat, 2015). Univariate analysis in this study
unemployed / not yet working as many as 10 people
was conducted to describe the individual
or 10.1%, working as farmers there are 4 people or
characteristics of patients with mental disorders in
4.0%, traders as many as 19 people or 19 .2%,
the community. These characteristics include
entrepreneurs 17 people or 17.2%, civil servants
gender, age, education level and occupation which
there are 9 people or 9.1% and other jobs there are 17
are shown in the form of a frequency distribution
people or 17.2%
table containing proportions and percentages with a
3.2 Individual attitudes and behavior toward people
central tendency analysis, namely mode.
living with mental illness.
2.6 Ethical Clearance
Table 2 shows that 47 respondents (47.47%) had
According to (Surahman et al., 2016) health research
positive or supportive attitude toward people living
ethics in its application is carried out with three
with mental illness while 52 others (52.52%) had
main principles, namely beneficience, respecting
negative or unsupportive toward people living with
human dignity, and getting justice. The researcher
mental illness. The lowest score of individual
collected data by providing an explanation of the
attitudes was 13.50, the highest score was 68.09 and
research prior to informed consent. the researcher
the average score was 50.0.
gave freedom to prospective respondents to
The individual behavior toward people living
participate or refuse to become respondents and the
with mental illness showed there were 9 people

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K. F. ANA, ET AL.

(9.09%) had good behavior, 11 people (11.1%) had respondents had a negative or less supportive
enough behavior, and 79 people (79.8%) had poor attitude.
behavior. The lowest score of behavior was 12, the The results of this study are in accordance with
highest score 33, the average 23.27 and the standard Lawrence W. Green's theory (in Notoatmodjo, 2014)
deviation is 5.105. that behavior is influenced by three main factors, one
of which is predisposing factors, namely the factors
4 DISCUSSION behind behavior based on rational thinking and
motivation for a person's behavior. Predisposing
This study found that more than fifty percent of
factors include knowledge, attitudes, values, beliefs,
individuals have negative or less supportive attitudes
etc. The results of this study are supported by
toward people living with mental illness, namely 52
previous research by Nxumalo & Mchunu (2017) that
(52.52%). Previous studies found that majority of
families with mental disorders reported experiencing
people had negative attitude toward people living
stigma from society in the form of isolation, blame
with mental illness (Despande et al., 2020; Jarso et al.,
and exploitation, community neglect, and labeling.
2022; Puspitasari et al., 2020; Saragih et al., 2013).
and stereotypes. In addition, in a study (Sya'diah et al.,
This study result was similar to the prior studies.
2014) in Community Stigma Against Mentally Sick
In this study, majority of respondents were
People (A Study in Trucuk Village, Trucuk District,
female, age 36-45 years, had senior high school
Bojonegoro Regency in 2014) that some people have
education, and as workers. They had negative attitude
a negative stigma, because they feel afraid or restless
toward people living with mental illness. The majority
and do not willing to care about the condition of
of education level of respondents were senior high
mentally ill people as if those with mental disorders
school and they had negative attitude toward people
were classified as other human beings with lower
living with mental illness. Prior study found that a
dignity, who could be made fun of, based on the
large proportions of high education students had
research, only a small proportion had a positive
negative attitude toward mental illness (Tapan
stigma.
Barman et al., 2021). Females tend to have negative
According to Notoatmodjo (2014) at this time the
attitude than males (Bolam, 2014). The older age the
capture power and mindset of a person towards an
were associated with more negative attitudes
object will increase with age so that the knowledge
towards people living with mental illness (Yuan et al.,
obtained is getting better. Based on this theory, at the
2016). Workers do not have detailed experience
age of 36-45 years, an individual has a stable
about responding to and treating people living with
emotional level so that he is able to treat people with
mental illness properly, because minimal experience
mental disorders well. A person's level of education is
with people living with mental illness also creates
influential in responding to something that comes
stigma (Herdiyanto et al., 2017).
from outside. Someone who has a high level of
Attitude is a response that is still closed from a
education will give a more rational response and also
person to a stimulus or object. Knowledge and
in motivating intrinsically will have the potential than
exposure to information obtained by a person in
those with lower or moderate education
everyday life from education and workplace can
(Notoatmodjo, 2014). This is in accordance with
develop a person's attitude (Notoatmodjo, 2014).
research from (Kartika Herdiyanto et al., 2017) where
According to Azwar (2013) there were several factors
the lack of knowledge about mental health has an
that influence the attitudes development, including:
influence on the emergence of stigma against people
personal experience, the influence of other people
with mental disorders. According to research by
who are considered important, cultural influences,
Pratiwi & Nurlaily in 2010 (in Pratiwi, A.,
mass media, emotional influences, religious
Mceldowney et al., 2014) found that families who
education and educational institutions. The results
have family members with mental disorders tend to
further show that socio-demographic variables such
isolate these family members because they are
as the urban-rural dichotomy and previous
considered useless and worried that at any time they
encounters with people living with mental illness
could relapse. Such society is due to the lack of public
have a significant correlation with Omanis' attitudes
knowledge about mental illness due to the lack of
towards mentally ill people (Alkaabi et al., 2019).
information obtained. Based on these theories and
Most individuals have poor behavior toward
research, education is very important to increase an
people living with mental illness. This result can be
individual's knowledge in responding to a matter.
due to a lack of individual understanding of people
living with mental illness, it can be seen from the
5 CONCLUSSION
characteristics of respondents from education that
there are still respondents with the last elementary The community still had negative attitude and poor
education, because the higher the level of education is behavior toward people living with mental illness.
able to make people think more rationally than This result indicated the need for intervention and
people with low education (Notoatmodjo, 2014). promotion about mental illness in the community
Another factor that can influence behavior is the setting.
attitude toward people living with mental illness. In
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