ABSTRACT

There has been much outcry of international organizations about the state of mental illness and how it affects a person's ability to perform the tasks necessary for daily living. Depression in particular causes an adjustment from the psychological well-being of an individual which is indicated by his emotional and behavioral disposition. This study investigated the attitudes of the society to the mentally ill using depression a case. The population constituted all the adults in Ado and Oye-Ekiti from which sample of two hundred (200) respondents were selected based on purposive sampling. The study focused on public perception; level of stigma, health workers attitude, family care and the possible solution to depression. Descriptive analysis and inferential analysis such as chi-square analysis was used to analyze the effect of public attitude on the mentally ill persons using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.

The findings from the research work evidence for the researcher's to conclude that there is statistically significant relationship between public attitudes; societal stigmatization, health practitioner attitude, and family care and the depression recovery.

The study recommended the need for government intervention through provision of medical care; public sensitization; and adequate family care.