Weekly Briefing, Vol. 51. No. 1 (LVA) May 2022
Study: Latvian Society Becoming More Inclusive Towards Intellectually Disabled
Summary
A study conducted by the Ministry of Welfare, the aim of which was to assess changes in public attitudes and perceptions about adults with mental disabilities, children with disabilities, and those living in families, shows that Latvian society has become more inclusive. Public support has also increased for children who are forced to live apart from their biological families. The best treatment for people with mental disabilities is to be part of society, to live and work with others, according to 76% of respondents. Despite the growing societal tolerance rates, the study participants’ perception of societal tolerance is critical. Those participants in the study whose families have a person with a mental disorder mentioned that the negative attitude has decreased in recent years by 8% more than the other respondents. However, the statements of some respondents are worrying, according to which it can be concluded that there is still prejudice in society against people with mental disorders.
Introduction
The Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia has conducted a study “Public Awareness and Understanding of the Deinstitutionalisation Process” to assess changes in public attitudes and perceptions about adults with mental disabilities, children with disabilities, and those living in families. The Ministry of Welfare itself believes that Latvian society has become more inclusive. The study examines the views of both people with mental disabilities and children left without parental care. An equivalent public opinion survey was conducted in 2018, and the data from both surveys are comparable. In this month’s Latvia Social briefing, we will outline what researchers have been able to find out about society’s attitudes towards people with mental disabilities.
I Deinstitutionalisation in Latvia
Deinstitutionalisation is the release of institutionalized individuals from institutional care (as in a psychiatric care hospital) to care in the community, as well as the reform of an institution to remove or disguise its institutional character. Essentially, it is the abandonment of long-term social care facilities for people with mental disabilities.
The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stipulates that all persons with disabilities have an equal right to live in a society with the same freedom of choice as other persons. Most persons with mental disabilities in Latvia live on their own. However, many people who could live independently with little support have been placed in long-term social care and lost control of their lives.
Therefore, deinstitutionalisation projects have been carried out in Latvian municipalities, in order to help people whose health condition allows them to start an independent life in society and work in a job that suits them.
First, municipalities can create social services – group apartments or houses, where people can live independently, but at the same time receive the support they need, as well as day care centres, where people with more severe disabilities can spend the day.
Second, many people with mental disabilities can work for pay. In order to promote their employment, the state helps employers with subsidies and support for job adjustment. Social enterprises designed to help people with mental disabilities integrate into the labour market are also eligible for financial support.
Before municipalities start building new or improving existing services, the needs of the population are assessed to understand what support each individual needs. This option will be maintained for people who need institutional care due to their health condition, as well as for those who currently live in a social care centre and do not want to leave it. It is a person’s choice to start living outside a social care centre.
II Findings of the Study
According to the results of the study, only 14 percent of the Latvian population understands the concept of deinstitutionalisation, and their number has not increased or even decreased in recent years, compared to the study conducted in 2018 (Fig. 1.).
Figure 1. Comparison between the percentage of Latvian respondents aware of the term “deinstitutionalisation” in 2018 and 2022
Source: graph created by author using data by the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia
The concept of deinstitutionalisation was more often recognized by respondents with a higher level of education and income. The majority – 54 percent – of the respondents have heard about measures to enable people with mental disabilities to live independently outside the care institution, but it is not clear what measures the people addressed could name.
The results of the study show that two-thirds of the study participants have had contact with people who have or have had a mental or mental disorder. A relative with a mental disorder is 20 percent of those surveyed.
Latvian society is dominated by support for the full inclusion of various deinstitutionalisation target groups in society, for life outside care institutions, the study concludes. However, public opinion differs about children and adults. Almost everyone – 95 percent of the respondents – supports the full inclusion of children with functional disorders, who have been diagnosed with a disability and live in families, for life outside care institutions.
More than two thirds of the Latvian population support the inclusion of people with mental disabilities in life outside of care institutions, but at least one fifth do not support it, and another ten percent, which is quite a large proportion of respondents, do not know what to think (Fig. 2.).
Figure 2. Public opinion on the inclusion of people with mental disabilities in 2022.
Source: graph created by author using data by the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia
Various statements about mental illness and intellectual disability were suggested for the evaluation of the study participants. Researchers emphasize the importance of raising public awareness and understanding of these issues. Most respondents generally agreed with the following statements: society should be more tolerant of people with mental disabilities; The best therapy for people with mental disabilities is to be part of society, to live and work like other people, with other people, people with mental disabilities are less dangerous than most people think.
However, there is widespread support for statements that suggest that people with mental disabilities are still prejudiced in society. For example, most respondents agree that the behaviour of people with mental disabilities is unpredictable, and that more people than four years ago believe it is important to protect society from people with mental illness. 62 percent of respondents agree with this opinion. The population is divided on the question of whether a person should be treated in a hospital as soon as the person is diagnosed with a mental or mental disorder. Some agree, some don’t. The number of people who think that people with mental or intellectual disabilities commit crimes more often than other people has increased in recent years – 33 percent think so in 2022 (four percent more than in 2018).
More than two thirds of the surveyed Latvians say that they would not have problems living together or maintaining a relationship with a close person with a mental disorder. Compared to the results of the previous survey, this year there has been significant progress in public attitudes. For example, this year there are twenty percent more people who have answered in the affirmative to the question of whether I would live with a person with a mental disorder if it were a member of my family. The number of people working with people with mental disorders has increased by a third (69 percent in total).
Researchers point out that all statements about the ability to live, maintain a relationship or work with people with mental disabilities were more often agreed with by those respondents who have had contact with people with mental disabilities so far.
More than two-thirds (70 percent) of respondents would not vote for a politician if they were known to have depression or other mental health problems. From a societal perspective, people with mental disabilities often face negative attitudes (fear, dislike, desire to avoid) from other people because of their health problems. Among the participants in the study whose families have a person with a mental disorder, the prevailing view is that people with a mental disorder who have a negative attitude towards other people due to their health problems must face them very often.
Conclusions
More than two thirds of the Latvian population support the inclusion of people with mental disabilities in society and life outside care institutions. The proportion of people who support the inclusion of people with mental disabilities in society and life outside care institutions has not increased in four years either. Twenty percent of the population does not support it. One of the ways in which people with mental disabilities can live in society is deinstitutionalisation, but data show that society’s knowledge and understanding of what this means has even declined in recent years. It is also problematic that respondents have spoken out about people with mental disabilities in a way that suggests that prejudice is still prevalent in society. The stigma and discrimination that still prevails in Latvian society makes their difficulties more severe, as well as makes it more difficult to treat the diseases that already severely affect the lives of those ill.
References
- Labklājības ministrija. (2018). gada sabiedriskās domas pētījums par iedzīvotāju informētību un izpratni par deinstitucionalizācijas procesu. https://www.lm.gov.lv/sites/lm/files/data_content/sabiedrisks-domas-ptjums_20181.pdf
- Labklājības ministrija. (2020). Patstāvīga dzīve cilvēkiem ar garīga rakstura traucējumiem. https://www.lm.gov.lv/lv/patstaviga-dzive-cilvekiem-ar-gariga-rakstura-traucejumiem
- Labklājības ministrija. (2022). gada sabiedriskās domas pētījums par iedzīvotāju informētību un izpratni par deinstitucionalizācijas procesu. https://www.lm.gov.lv/lv/media/19369/download
- LVportāls. (2022). LV portāls – Cilvēks. Valsts. Likums. https://lvportals.lv/dienaskartiba/340622-latvijas-sabiedriba-ir-kluvusi-ieklaujosaka-2022
- Merriam-Webster. (2022). Deinstitutionalization. The Merriam-Webster.Com Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deinstitutionalization
- (2022). Vai sabiedrība vairāk saprot cilvēkus ar garīga rakstura traucējumiem? Neatkarīgā. https://neatkariga.nra.lv/veseliba/380973-vai-sabiedriba-vairak-saprot-cilvekus-ar-gariga-rakstura-traucejumiem