Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T15:50:28.475Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Differences in attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatry among medical students, before and after the academic course of psychiatry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

M. Pascucci ,
M. La Montagna ,
E. Stella ,
A. De Angelis ,
P. Parente ,
V. Di Nunzio ,
A. Ventriglio ,
L. Janiri ,
G. Pozzi  and
A. Bellomo
M. Pascucci*
Affiliation:
University of Foggia, Institute of Psychiatry, Foggia, Italy
M. La Montagna
Affiliation:
University of Foggia, Institute of Psychiatry, Foggia, Italy
E. Stella
Affiliation:
University of Foggia, Institute of Psychiatry, Foggia, Italy
A. De Angelis
Affiliation:
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Department of Psychiatry, Rome, Italy
P. Parente
Affiliation:
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Rome, Italy
V. Di Nunzio
Affiliation:
University of Foggia, Institute of Psychiatry, Foggia, Italy
A. Ventriglio
Affiliation:
University of Foggia, Institute of Psychiatry, Foggia, Italy
L. Janiri
Affiliation:
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Department of Psychiatry, Rome, Italy
G. Pozzi
Affiliation:
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Department of Psychiatry, Rome, Italy
A. Bellomo
Affiliation:
University of Foggia, Institute of Psychiatry, Foggia, Italy
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Background

Stigma towards mental illness and psychiatry have a major impact on psychiatric patients’ quality of life; in particular, prejudicial beliefs make it more difficult for future doctors to send patients to mental health services, leading to a delay of necessary care.

Aims

Our aim is to evaluate the stigma towards mental illness and psychiatry, in a sample of Italian medical students. We studied the differences between the first-year students who have not attended the academic course in psychiatry, compared to the senior students who have attended the psychiatric lectures.

Methods

We tested 113 medical students, using the following questionnaires:

– Attitudes Towards Psychiatry (ATP 30);

– Community Attitudes Towards Mental Ill (CAMI);

– Perceived Discrimination Devaluation Scale (PDD), to assess the discrimination towards mental illness perceived in society;

– Baron-Cohen's Empathy Quotient (EQ), to measure empathy.

Results

Among the 113 students, 46 have already attended the academic course of psychiatry and CAMI scores were less stigmatizing as total score (P = 0.014) and in authoritarianism subscale (P = 0.049), social restriction (P = 0.022) and ideology of mental health in the community (P = 0.017). However, there were no statistically significant differences in empathy, perceived discrimination in the society and stigmatization of psychiatry.

Conclusions

The 67 students who have not attended the academic course of psychiatry are more stigmatizing, considering psychiatric patients as inferior people that require coercive attitudes, socially dangerous and that should be treated faraway from the community. Studying psychiatry is therefore useful to reduce, in the future doctors, these prejudices toward mentally ill patients.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Type
EW414
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 33 , Issue S1: Abstracts of the 24th European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2016 , pp. s218 - s219
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2014
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.