Gender belief and mental illness: A study of public and private of secondary school in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The most prevalent misconception includes the belief that people with mental illnesses are unpredictable and violent.To determine the gender beliefs about mental illness among public and private secondary school students in Ogun State.Descriptive survey research was employed for the study. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for participant’s selection and subsequently, 353 students were randomly selected for the study.Majority of respondents (65.5% of public SS and 64.8% of private SS) had negative beliefs about mentally ill persons. This study also showed that there is no significant difference in public and private secondary school male respondents general beliefs about mental illness (p = 0.126), but there is a significant difference in public and private secondary school female respondents general beliefs about mental illness (p = 0.028). Generally, the study findings demonstrated that participants had wrong and negative belief about mentally ill persons.

Keywords: Belief, Dangerousness, Embarrassment, Interpersonal Relationship, Mental Illness