Stigmatising attitudes towards persons with mental illness: a survey of medical students and interns from Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Stigmatising attitudes towards persons with mental illness are commonly reported among health professionals. Familiarity with mental illness has been reported to improve these attitudes. Very few studies have compared future medical doctors’ attitudes toward types of mental illness, substance use disorders and physical illness. A cross-sectional survey of 5th and 6th year medical students as well as recently graduated medical doctors was conducted in April 2011. The 12-item level of contact report and the Attitude towards Mental Illness Questionnaire were administered. Participants endorsed stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness; with attitudes more adverse for schizophrenia compared to depression. Stigmatising attitudes were similarly endorsed for substance use disorders. Paradoxically, attitudes towards HIV/AIDS were positive and similar to diabetes mellitus. Increasing familiarity with mental illness was weakly associated with better attitudes towards depression and schizophrenia. Stigmatising attitudes towards depression and schizophrenia are common among future doctors. Efforts to combat stigma are urgently needed and should be promoted among medical students and recent medical graduates.

Medical and nursing students’ attitudes toward mental illness: An Indian perspective

“…18 Nursing students in the current study hold more benevolent attitudes toward persons with mental illness compared medical students. While these findings concur with earlier studies from Southern Nigeria that found stigmatizing attitudes among medical students and interns, 19 inconsistent with previous research, 20 that observed benevolent attitudes that were positive, toward mental illness. On the other hand, these findings also support documented evidence that showed high benevolent attitudes among nursing students toward mental illness.…”

Student nurses’s stigmatising attitudes towards persons with a mental disorder in a selected school of nursing and midwifery in Rwanda

“…Although participants seemed to agree, in principle, that mental health care facilities can, and should be, placed in communities, they also expressed a desire for social distance from persons with mental disorders. These findings are in line with international studies (Bjorkman et al, 2008;Arvaniti et al, 2009;Kopera, Suszek, Bonar, Myszka, Gmaj, Wojnar, 2015) and local studies conducted in Africa (Ukpong & Abasiubong, 2010;Barke et al, 2011 andJames, Omoaregba &Okogbenin, 2012).…”

“…Anti-stigma initaives suggested to positively impact on these negative steretypes generally include education, information sharing about mental disorders , and, familiarity through increased contact, research indicating that both are positive mediators of negative mental disorder stereotypes (Arvaniti et al, 2009;James, Omoaregba, & Okogbenin, 2012;Corrigan, Powell, Fokuo & Kosyluk, 2014;Corrigan, Mittal, Reaves, Haynes, Han, Marris, 2014). Despite Rwandan integration of mental health services beginning in 2005, there is no local research regarding mental disorder stigmatising attitudes among students nurses tasked with implementing integrated care (Rwandan Ministry of Health, 2009).…”

The Opinions of Italian Psychology Students About People Diagnosed with Depression and Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study

“…Therefore, it is worthwhile examining students' views and to develop targeted education interventions to improve students' attitudes, where necessary. Studies of medical students found that in most cases these students have more positive attitudes toward PWD than toward PWS (32), and that medical students felt socially closer towards PWD than towards PWS (33). It has been also found that medical students perceived PWS as being more severely ill, and as more dangerous and unpredictable than PWD (33,34).…”