Background: Attitudes of patients and public towards mental illness and treatment is very influencing factor. A comprehensive review of public attitudes toward mental illness is important to educate the public as well, in view of the fact that public also play an important role in helping the patients to overcome their illness. The general trend of studies carried out so far in India indicated lack of knowledge on mental health and mental illness and a tendency to maintain social distance from the mentally ill and to reject them makes its existence felt. Method: Nonexperimental design and descriptive approach was used to conduct the study. The sample size of this study comprised of 100 adults residing in selected community of Gadag. Nonprobability convenient sampling technique was used to draw the sample. A self prepared tool was used to collect sociodemographic data, self reported questionnaires were used to assess the knowledge and Likert’s scale was used to assess the attitude of adults towards mental illness. Informed consent was taken from each participant prior to collection of date and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to calculate vaues. Results: Majority (55%) of the subjects had good knowledge, 42% of adults had average knowledge, only 3% of adults had poor knowledge and none of them had very good knowledge regarding mental illness. Majority (97%) of the adults had favourable attitude, only 03% of adults had moderately favourable attitude and none of the adults were had unfavourable attitudes towards mental illness. Conclusion: Adults of selected urban community had average to good knowledge regarding mental illness and also majority of adults were opined favorable attitude and very few percentage of adults shown moderately favorable attitude towards mental illness. Even though, there a still need to enhance comprehensive mental health literacy and highly positive attitude among general public towards mental illness.

Keywords: Knowledge; Attitude; Mental Illness; Adults; Urban Community.