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AuthorFekih-Romdhane, Feten
AuthorDaher-Nashif, Suhad
AuthorStambouli, Manel
AuthorAlhuwailah, Amthal
AuthorHelmy, Mai
AuthorShuwiekh, Hanaa Ahmed Mohamed
AuthorMohamed Lemine, Cheikh Mohamed Fadel
AuthorRadwan, Eqbal
AuthorSaquib, Juliann
AuthorSaquib, Nazmus
AuthorFawaz, Mirna
AuthorZarrouq, Btissame
AuthorNaser, Abdallah Y.
AuthorObeid, Sahar
AuthorSaleh, Maan
AuthorHaider, Sanad
AuthorMiloud, Lahmer
AuthorBadrasawi, Manal
AuthorHamdan-Mansour, Ayman
AuthorBarbato, Mariapaola
AuthorMotwakil Bakhiet, Aisha
AuthorKhalil, Najat Sayem
AuthorAdawi, Samir
AuthorGrein, Fatheya
AuthorLoch, Alexandre Andrade
AuthorCheour, Majda
AuthorHallit, Souheil
Available date2023-11-19T05:45:27Z
Publication Date2023
Publication NameBMC Public Health
ResourceScopus
ISSN14712458
URIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16622-7
URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/10576/49397
AbstractBackground Determining the potential barriers responsible for delaying access to care, and elucidating pathways to early intervention should be a priority, especially in Arab countries where mental health resources are limited. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between religiosity, stigma and help-seeking in an Arab Muslim cultural background. Hence, we propose in the present study to test the moderating role of stigma toward mental illness in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslim community people living in different Arab countries. Method The current survey is part of a large-scale multinational collaborative project (StIgma of Mental Problems in Arab CounTries [The IMPACT Project]). We carried-out a web-based cross-sectional, and multi-country study between June and November 2021. The final sample comprised 9782 Arab Muslim participants (mean age 29.67 ± 10.80 years, 77.1% females). Results Bivariate analyses showed that less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and higher religiosity levels were significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction religiosity by mental illness stigma was significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes (Beta = .005; p < .001); at low and moderate levels of stigma, higher religiosity was significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Conclusion Our findings preliminarily suggest that mental illness stigma is a modifiable individual factor that seems to strengthen the direct positive effect of religiosity on help-seeking attitudes. This provides potential insights on possible anti-stigma interventions that might help overcome reluctance to counseling in highly religious Arab Muslim communities.
SponsorThe authors would like to thank all participants.
Languageen
PublisherBioMed Central Ltd
SubjectArab countries
Help-seeking attitudes
Islam
Mental illness
Religiosity
Stigma
TitleMental illness stigma as a moderator in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslims from 16 Arab countries
TypeArticle
Issue Number1
Volume Number23
dc.accessType Open Access


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