Mental illnesses in childhood and adolescence: a bioethical view of the stigma they entail

Abstract

Literature suggests that general beliefs towards mental illnesses are strongly correlated to the social behavior towards people who suffer them. Objective: to explore beliefs and attitudes towards mental illnesses in children and adolescents and associate them to bioethics. Materials and methods: exploratory, prospective and quantitative study. A questionnaire was administered to parents-tutors of children-adolescents with mental disorders, and to healthcare professionals of the Hospital de Niños de
la Santísima Trinidad Córdoba (Argentina). Data processing was performed by means of frequency analysis. Results: 68.5% of parents-tutors and 51.8% of healthcare professionals answered that mental illnesses are never considered like any other illness. Diagnose and treatment is perceived as a stigma by 25.9% (p<0.01) of healthcare professionals. For 88.1% of parents-tutors and 9.8% (p<0.01) of healthcare professionals, children and adolescents with mental illnesses are never dangerous. 77.1% of parents and 18.4% of professionals (p<0.01) stated that people are never afraid of children-adolescents with MI. 42.8% of children-adolescents were excluded from school and 28.5% from family activities. Conclusions:
mental illness during childhood entails a stigma that compromises development, equal opportunity and human rights.