Mental Health Survey Paper

The Nation’s Attitudes Towards Mental Health With news outlets constantly attributing mental illnesses to crises in America, it can be questioned if the public has a core understanding of what mental illness is. Every individual’s construction of reality is subjective, which is why many will often scoff at the worth of an opinion; however, a collection of opinions will form an aggregate from which valuable information can be derived. A survey can be used to create a collection of opinions. Therefore, this survey’s results can be used to make inferences about the nation’s education on mental health issues. Although some may argue that social media is negatively impacting society, it is an excellent means to reach a large audience. The survey
For the most part, the participants had positive opinions towards mental health indicating that the population was well educated on the issue. Unfortunately, on the questions I designed to gauge empathic responses towards mental illness, some responded negatively. When participants were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the following prompt “Mental illness is a weakness,” twenty-five percent agreed (Philip Pizzo, Personal Survey, July 18, 2016). Although society has progressed substantially it is evident that more education is needed to further destigmatize mental
Regardless of race, creed, color, or social class, mental illness can affect anyone. Curious to find out if participants would agree, the question “Those who are fortunate have no reason to be depressed,” was presented in the survey (Philip Pizzo, Personal Survey, July 18, 2016). Astonishingly, ninety-three percent of participants disagreed. The high education levels coupled with the liberal attitudes of most of the participants may have resulted in skewed results; moreover, questions pertaining to social class usually result in dishonest answers. Socioeconomic status has the potential divide societal views towards mental illness. In order to gain a better understanding of mental illness, it is necessary to view an individual’s plight unbiasedly, which can be extremely