The Effect Of Personality Traits And Value Orientation On Chinese University Students’ Stigma Of Mental Illness

The stigma of mental illness consists of congnitive bias on mental ills, emotional reaction and behavioral response. With increasingly fierce competition, mental problem highlights among university students. University students with mental illness suffer from not only the illness itself, but also stigma. Therefore, the stigma of Chinese university students raises concern of academics. Harmony, Mianzi, Collectivism, as unique featureness of of Chinese culture, have been discussed to have relatedness with mental illness stigma. Accorddingly, this study assessed 3,322 university students’ stigma of mental illness, personality traits, value orientations by AQ-27, CPAI-2, Individualism-Collectivesim Scale, and analyzed the effect of personality traits and value orientations on students’ stigma of mental illness.Results showd:1.For the general situation, compared with theoretical mean value, Chniese students have lower level of negative cognitive bias, emotional reaction, higher level of behavioral response.2.For differences between groups(1) Diffrence between genders is significant. Female have more cognitive bias, appraising the patients to be more dangerous, are more likely to cognize the mental ill to be dangerous; have complicatied emotion reaction, more likely to pity and less likely to anger, but more likely to fear as well; have more intention to help and not to segregate.(2) Diffrence between grades is significant. 1st students have the lowest level of stigma. Specificly, they have less negative emotional reaction and behavioral response, they are more likely to pity and help, less likely to segregate and avoid. 3rd students are most likely to coerce.(3) Difference between majors are significant. Students majored in humanities and social science have higher level of stigma than those who majored in science and technology. Specificly, they have more cognitive bias, viewing patients to be more dangrouse and responsible for the illness. They have negative and complicated emotional reaction, they are likely to pity the patients and to fear and feel anger meanwhile. They have more negative hebavioral response, being more likely to coerce, segregate, and avoid the patients.(4) Difference between various level of familiarity on mental illness patients is significant. Students familiar with patients have lower level of stigma, but have conplecatied behavioral reponses. Specificly, they are more likely to offer help, not to avoid, but more likely to coerce as well.(5) Difference between various level of familiarity on mental illness knowledge is significant. Students familiar with the knowledge have a lower level of mental illness stigma. Specificly, students know well on monography, documentary, movie, scientific concept about mental illness have lower level of stigma are more likely to help and not to avoid.3.For the relatedness between personality trais, value orientations and mental illness stigma:(1) For personality traits, students who value Mianzi, A-Q Mentality, Traditionalism have more negative cognitive bias, emontional reactions, behavioral reponses toward mental illness patients. Students who value harmony have less negative cognitive bias, emontional reactions, behavioral reponses toward mental illness patients. Students who value Renqing have less negative emotional reactions.(2) For value orientations, students who prefer horizontal value orientations which highlights interpersonal equality, have less negative emotional reactions and behavioral responses and overall level of stigma toward mental illness patients. Students who prefer vertical value orientations which highlights hierarchy, have more negative emotional reactions and behavioral responses and overall level of stigma toward mental illness patients.4. For the effect of personality traits and value orientations on Chinese university students’ stigma of mental illness, A-Q Mentality, Traditionalism, Harmony, Mianzi, Vertical Collectivism, Vertical Individualism are predictors of mental illness stigma, while Harmony, Horizontal Collectivism are negative predictors, and others are positive predictors.According to the results above, this study analyzed the possible reasons and proposed suggestions to reduce Chinese university students’ stigma of mental illness, including:(1) To forge proper ideology of mental illness for university students through education.(2) To consider differences and features among university students and accordingly carry out the education.(3) Chances for university students to contact with mental ill should be provided.(4) To encourage students to learn more curricular knowledge about mental illness.(5) To utilize the profitable effect of personality traits and value orientations.