Stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness: A cross-sectional survey of Australian medical students.
Australas Psychiatry
; 31(6): 734-740, 2023 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37724416
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
We aimed to assess the degree of stigmatizing attitudes and psychological distress amongst Australian medical students in order to better understand factors that may impact help-seeking behaviours of students. We hypothesize that sociodemographic factors will not significantly predict stigmatizing attitudes, and increasing levels of psychological distress will be associated with increasing stigma.METHODS:
A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to medical students at Western Australian universities and members of the Australian Medical Students' Association. Stigma was scored using the Mental Illness Clinicians' Attitudes (MICA-2) scale. Psychological distress was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Participants provided information about gender, age, spirituality, financial hardship, treatment for mental illness, and experience in psychiatry.RESULTS:
There were 598 responses. The mean (Standard Deviation) MICA-2 score was 36.8 (7.5) out of a maximum of 96, and the mean (SD) HADS depression score was 4.7 (3.7). The mean (SD) HADS anxiety score was 9.3 (4.4). Past or current treatment for a mental illness was associated with lower MICA-2 scores. There was no association between MICA-2 and HADS scores, or sociodemographic factors.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results demonstrate relatively low MICA-2 scores and high HADS-A scores overall, with no association between HADS scores and stigma.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Estudantes de Medicina
/
Transtornos Mentais
Tipo de estudo:
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Australas Psychiatry
Assunto da revista:
PSIQUIATRIA
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Austrália