Discrimination in the workplace, reported by people with major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional study in 35 countries.

OBJECTIVE: Whereas employment has been shown to be beneficial for people with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) across different cultures, employers' attitudes have been shown to be negative towards workers with MDD. This may form an important barrier to work participation. Today, little is known about how stigma and discrimination affect work participation of workers with MDD, especially from their own perspective. We aimed to assess, in a working age population including respondents with MDD from 35 countries: (1) if people with MDD anticipate and experience discrimination when trying to find or keep paid employment; (2) if participants in high, middle and lower developed countries differ in these respects; and (3) if discrimination experiences are related to actual employment status (ie, having a paid job or not). METHOD: Participants in this cross-sectional study (N=834) had a diagnosis of MDD in the previous 12 months. They were interviewed using the Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC-12). Analysis of variance and generalised linear mixed models were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Overall, 62.5% had anticipated and/or experienced discrimination in the work setting. In very high developed countries, almost 60% of respondents had stopped themselves from applying for work, education or training because of anticipated discrimination. Having experienced workplace discrimination was independently related to unemployment. CONCLUSIONS: Across different countries and cultures, people with MDD very frequently reported discrimination in the work setting. Effective interventions are needed to enhance work participation in people with MDD, focusing simultaneously on decreasing stigma in the work environment and on decreasing self-discrimination by empowering workers with MDD

No gender differences in social outcome in patients suffering from schizophrenia

Differences between female and male patients with schizophrenia in psychopathology and course of illness have frequently been reported. However, the influence of sex on symptomatic and social remission is still an open issue. In the present study, differences between males and females in both clinical and social remission rates and in scores on several scales assessing social functioning were evaluated in 295 stabilized patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective or delusional disorder. Female patients, as compared with males, showed a later onset of the illness, less negative symptoms and less frequent alcohol abuse. No significant difference was found between females and males in the rate of symptomatic and functional remission. No significant effect of sex was observed on any index of social functioning

Discrimination in the workplace, reported by people with major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional study in 35 countries

Whereas employment has been shown to be beneficial for people with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) across different cultures, employers' attitudes have been shown to be negative towards workers with MDD. This may form an important barrier to work participation. Today, little is known about how stigma and discrimination affect work participation of workers with MDD, especially from their own perspective. We aimed to assess, in a working age population including respondents with MDD from 35 countries: (1) if people with MDD anticipate and experience discrimination when trying to find or keep paid employment; (2) if participants in high, middle and lower developed countries differ in these respects; and (3) if discrimination experiences are related to actual employment status (ie, having a paid job or not).status: publishe

Global pattern of experienced and anticipated discrimination against people with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Many people with schizophrenia experience stigma caused by other people's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour; this can lead to impoverishment, social marginalisation, and low quality of life. We aimed to describe the nature, direction, and severity of anticipated and experienced discrimination reported by people with schizophrenia. METHODS: We did a cross-sectional survey in 27 countries, in centres affiliated to the INDIGO Research Network, by use of face-to-face interviews with 732 participants with schizophrenia. Discrimination was measured with the newly validated discrimination and stigma scale (DISC), which produces three subscores: positive experienced discrimination; negative experienced discrimination; and anticipated discrimination. FINDINGS: Negative discrimination was experienced by 344 (47%) of 729 participants in making or keeping friends, by 315 (43%) of 728 from family members, by 209 (29%) of 724 in finding a job, 215 (29%) of 730 in keeping a job, and by 196 (27%) of 724 in intimate or sexual relationships. Positive experienced discrimination was rare. Anticipated discrimination affected 469 (64%) in applying for work, training, or education and 402 (55%) looking for a close relationship; 526 (72%) felt the need to conceal their diagnosis. Over a third of participants anticipated discrimination for job seeking and close personal relationships when no discrimination was experienced. INTERPRETATION: Rates of both anticipated and experienced discrimination are consistently high across countries among people with mental illness. Measures such as disability discrimination laws might, therefore, not be effective without interventions to improve self-esteem of people with mental illness