Exploring Diverse Mental Illness Attributions in a Multinational Sample: A Mixed-Methods Survey of Scholars in International Psychology

Attributions, or beliefs about the causes of mental illness, have been associated with thoughts, emotions, and actions related to mental health problems and treatment. Research has shown that people hold a wide variety of beliefs about the causes of mental illness, including components that are social, genetic, spiritual, fatalistic, or simply a result of chance. The current study surveyed 158 English-speaking scholars in psychology from 65 different countries, who reported beliefs they had observed among members of the public related to attributions of mental illness. Following the research design of Landrine and Klonoff (1994) , questionnaires included free-form qualitative questions and a list of quantitative ratings of the importance of various attributions in a specific country. The scholars’ responses supported models developed with more geographically homogeneous samples, with supernatural causes, social stress, and lifestyle among the most common attributions of illness in a variety of nations. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) of the 7 derived factors revealed significant differences in attributions among regions of the world, and particularly with respect to attributions to supernatural causes, social/stress, physical health, and substance use. Although further validation of the model is recommended, an international attribution framework may lead to valuable research examining help seeking for mental health concerns, mental illness stigma, and other variables in diverse geographical and cultural contexts.

Duke Scholars

Author Brandon Knettel School of Nursing