International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 165 Vol.5; Issue: 10; October 2018 International Journal of Research and Review www.ijrrjournal.com E-ISSN: 2349-9788; P-ISSN: 2454-2237 Original Research Article A Rural Community-Based Study on Public Stigma towards Mental Illness from Eastern India Dr Arghya Pal 1 , Dr Sayanti Paul 2 , Dr Dilip Kumar Mondal 3 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun. 3 Professor, Department of Psychiatry, RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata Corresponding Author: Dr Sayanti Paul ABSTRACT Background: Considerable stigmatizing attitude exists towards persons suffering from mental illness in spite of considerable measures to counter stigma. The current study tried to explore level of public stigma towards mental illness from a rural community-based sample from Eastern India. Methods: It was an observational study with cross-sectional design done in a village in Howrah District, West Bengal, India, in 2017. The interview schedule consisted of a socio-demographic and clinical proforma, Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) and Perceived devaluation discrimination scale (PDD). Results: Of the 602 families, most respondents were females (60.1%) and members of nuclear family (60.6%). Negative attitude towards mental illness was found to be positively correlated to age of the responder, family size and monthly family income. A family history of use of prescription psychotropic medication in the family was found to be significantly correlated to less stigmatizing attitude to persons with mental illness (PMI). Conclusion: Significant public stigma and negative attitude to mental illness exists exist in our sample. There can be discreet attributes in PMI that is distinct from the illness characteristics that needs our attention in the future for success of the anti-stigma campaign. The major limitation of our study was the use of a cross-sectional design and use of sample of convenience. Key-words: Social Stigma; Public stigma; Mental illness; Community; Negative attitude INTRODUCTION Stigma is conceptualized to be attributes of persons or institutions that evoke negative attitudes and outlook and often results in discrimination against the persons or institutions. Considerable amount research has been conducted on internalized stigma across various mental illnesses. The results have been consistently showing that stigma results in discrimination, segregation, and perceived reduction in autonomy and self-efficacy. [1,2] Public stigma in particular is defined as the degree to which the general public holds negative views and discriminates against a specific group. Research has also showed that the perception of public stigma to a large extent influences the level of internalized stigma in patients with mental illness. [3] The relationship between internalized stigma and perceived stigma has been a matter of great interest for researchers. The initial assumption that high internalized stigma will be translated to high perceived stigma was negated by various studies. For example, in a sample of college students, when around 65% believed that someone receiving mental health treatment will be discriminated, 85% of the same sample reported that they themselves will