Dogra Nisha, Omigbodun Olayinka, Adedokun Tunde, Bella Tolulope, Ronzoni Pablo, Adesokan Adekunle
Greenwood Institute of Child Health, University of Leicester, Westcotes House, Westcotes Drive, Leicester LE3 0QU, UK.
Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2012 Jul;17(3):336-53. doi: 10.1177/1359104511410804. Epub 2011 Aug 18.
Children tend to lack knowledge of, and hold negative attitudes towards mental illness. However, most of the work undertaken in Nigeria has been done with adults.
To establish the views and knowledge about mental health and illness in pupils at four secondary schools in rural and urban Southwest Nigeria.
A cross-sectional survey based on a questionnaire previously used in the UK and adapted to Nigeria.
Data from 145 Nigerian schoolchildren showed little knowledge of, negative attitudes and social distance towards persons with mental health problems. Urban participants and boys appeared less knowledgeable than rural children and girls.
Nigerian schoolchildren, as with Nigerian adults and young people in Western countries, show stigma towards mental illness. This may be underpinned by a lack of knowledge regarding mental health problems. Educational interventions need to be appropriate to area, age and gender to effectively improve mental health literacy, which in turn will influence attitudes and social distance. However, the fact that the schoolchildren were optimistic about recovery is a strength that could be built upon.
儿童往往对精神疾病缺乏了解，并持有负面态度。然而，在尼日利亚开展的大部分工作都是针对成年人的。
了解尼日利亚西南部城乡四所中学学生对心理健康和疾病的看法及知识水平。
基于此前在英国使用并根据尼日利亚情况进行调整的问卷进行横断面调查。
来自145名尼日利亚学童的数据显示，他们对有心理健康问题的人了解甚少，态度消极且存在社会距离。城市参与者和男孩的知识水平似乎低于农村儿童和女孩。
与尼日利亚成年人以及西方国家的年轻人一样，尼日利亚学童对精神疾病存在污名化现象。这可能是由于对心理健康问题缺乏了解所致。教育干预需要根据地区、年龄和性别进行调整，以有效提高心理健康素养，进而影响态度和社会距离。然而，学童对康复持乐观态度这一事实是可以利用的优势。
