Table 2 Social distance toward PWMI among the general public (n = 1437)

The total score of Social Distance Scale

12.53 ± 3.11

Work relations^a

4.32 ± 1.59

Shallow relationships^b

3.61 ± 1.24

Employment^c

1.54 ± 1.54

Eight questions

 1. It is best not to associate with colleagues who have been treated for mental illness

1.11 ± 0.70

 2^d. It is wrong to shy away from people with mental illness

1.46 ± 0.68

 3. It would bother me to work with colleagues who had been in a mental hospital

1.81 ± 0.75

 4. I would be against any daughter of mine marrying a man who had been in a mental hospital

1.54 ± 0.73

 5. I would rather not hire a person with mental illness who had been in a mental hospital

1.75 ± 0.79

 6. Leaders with psychosis who have been in a mental hospital should not be allowed to lead

1.79 ± 0.76

 7^d. If I needed a babysitter, I would be willing to hire a woman with a history of mental illness

1.19 ± 0.66

 8. I would not ride in a taxi driven by someone who had been in a mental hospital

1.88 ± 0.859