A comparison of Attitudes Toward Schizophrenia among Psychiatric Staff, Psychiatrists, Physicians, Medical Students, and Non-medical Workers

Abstract

Background: Today, schizophrenia remains stigmatized all over the world, and for patients with schizophrenia, the experience of stigma makes improving their lives difficult. Changing of attitudes toward schizophrenia is an important theme not only for medical professionals but also medical students. We therefore invested investigate negative attitudes toward schizophrenia among psychiatric staff, psychiatrists, physicians, medical students, and non-medical workers. Methods: Participants in this study included 490 medical students, 25 psychiatric staff, 13 psychiatrists, 48 physicians, and 222 non-medical workers in Fukushima Medical University, in Japan. We conducted an internet-based questionnaire survey, using a web-based survey tool. We used an 18-item questionnaire on attitudes toward schizophrenia that comprised three factors: stigma, underestimation of patients’ abilities, and skepticism regarding treatment. To compare the scores for each of these factors among the five participant groups, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to adjust for age and sex. Results: Psychiatrists’ “stigma” and “underestimation of patients’ abilities” scores were significantly lower than those of non-medical workers, physicians, and medical students. The “skepticism regarding treatment” scores were not significantly different among the five groups. For medical students, hoping to become a psychiatrist in the future had the great impact on improving attitudes toward schizophrenia. Conclusion: Medical students had more negative attitudes toward schizophrenia than psychiatrists, but equally negative attitudes compared with physicians and non-medical workers.