Perceived dangerousness of children with mental health problems and support for coerced treatment

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the public's beliefs regarding the potential for harm to self and others and the public's willingness to invoke coercive or legal means to ensure treatment of children.

Methods: Using data from the National Stigma Study-Children (NSS-C), which presented vignettes to 1,152 individuals, the investigators compared public perceptions of the dangerousness of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depression, asthma, and "daily troubles." Multivariate analyses were used to examine the predictors of perceptions of dangerousness and the willingness to support legally enforced treatment of these conditions.

Results: Children with ADHD and children with major depression were perceived (by 33% and 81% of the sample, respectively) as somewhat likely or very likely to be dangerous to themselves or others, compared with children with asthma (15%) or those with "daily troubles" (13%). Over one-third of the sample (35%) were willing to use legal means to force children with depression to see a clinician. However, even more (42%) endorsed forced treatment for a child with asthma. Furthermore, individuals who labeled the child as "mentally ill" were approximately twice as likely to report a potential for violence and five times as likely to support forced treatment.

Conclusions: Large numbers of people in the United States link children's mental health problems, particularly depression, to a potential for violence and support legally mandated treatment. These evaluations appear to reflect the stigma associated with mental illness and the public's concern for parental responsibility.