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CANBERRA - One in five Australians say they would not work with someone suffering depression, a new survey shows.
The survey of more than 6000 Australian adults revealed that men, the less-educated and migrants were more likely to attach a stigma to depression.
The survey published today in the Journal BioMed Central was part of research conducted by Professor Kathy Griffiths and Professor Helen Christensen from Australian National University and Professor Anthony Jorm from the University of Melbourne.
Dr Griffiths said the findings highlighted the need for targeted programs to reduce levels of stigma attached to depression.
"This is the first study to systematically investigate predictors of personal stigma among those people with high levels of depressive symptoms, she said in a statement.
"While our study showed that stigma is not as widespread as many members of the public think, it is still a problem."
The findings also revealed that attitudes towards depression differed little between regional areas and major cities.
- AAP
