One year later: tracking the continued growth of mental illness stigma in England

Using data from the Attitudes to Mental Illness (AMI) survey, we previously reported positive change in mental health stigma in England between 2008 and 2019. However, following the conclusion of the Time to Change campaign in 2021, 2023 data revealed a deterioration in several stigma-related attitudes. This report presents AMI survey 2024 results, examining changes over the past year. Regression analyses assessed stigma-related knowledge (Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS)), attitudes (Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale (CAMI)) and behavioural intent (Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS-IB)), along with willingness to interact based on vignettes of depression and schizophrenia. The proportion of respondents achieving 2023-level MAKS and CAMI scores declined significantly (by 3.5% (p = 0.028) and 7.0% (p < 0.001), respectively), whereas RIBS-IB scores showed a non-significant decrease. Vignette responses remained stable, but there are signs of increasing desire for social distance. This report explores potential drivers of these trends.