Mental illness stigma and attitudes among university students: descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction. Social stigma towards mental illnesses provokes discrimination and exclusion. It is important to detect this stigma for its evaluation to establish intervention strategies that respond to needs. Objective. This study has the objective of ascertaining levels of stigma among students from the University of Burgos (UBU) towards people with mental health problems at various university faculties and to analyze the right response in each case. Results. The study involved the administration of the Questionnaire on Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) to a sample of 268 students from 7 educational faculties (Sciences, Health Sciences, Economics, Law, Education, Huma- nities and the Higher Polytechnic School). The results showed that the stigma of university students was influenced by different sociodemographic variables (sex, age, studies and contact with people with mental illness). Conclusions. University students who participated in the study have elevated stigmatizing attitudes towards mental health pro- blems. Direct contact with people with mental health problems prompted less stigmatizing attitudes and, in general, men held the most discriminatory attitudes. Educational interventions must be designed for this population group to reduce stigma and so that stigmatizing attitudes are no longer obstacles to professional and social development.