Social Representation Study on Disabled Persons: A Longitudinal Study of Mentally Ill Patients and Verification of Differences by Type

Background: This study aimed to examine changes in the social representation of mental illness over the past 50 years and to compare these changes with the social representation of physical disability.Methods: To measure the causes, symptoms, treatment, and attitudes toward patients and hospitals for the general public, opinion surveys on mental illness were based on questionnaires, and in the case of physically disabled people, the scale of mental illness was revised and supplemented.Results: As a result of this study, it was confirmed that the social representation of the general public about mental illness has changed significantly over the past 50 years, but certain parts have deteriorated in some negative directions. Furthermore, when comparing the physically disabled and the mentally ill, it was confirmed that the social representation of the mentally ill was more negatively formed than that of the physically disabled.Conclusions: Based on these research results, the implications and limitations of this study were discussed.