Abstract
Objective
This study examines the differences in explicit and implicit stigma between medical and non-medical undergraduate students at baseline; the changes of explicit and implicit stigma in medical undergraduate and non-medical undergraduate students after a 1-month psychiatric clerkship and 1-month follow-up period; and the differences in the changes of explicit and implicit stigma between medical and non-medical undergraduate students.
Methods
Seventy-two medical undergraduate students and 64 non-medical undergraduate students were enrolled. All participants were interviewed at intake and after 1 month. The Taiwanese version of the Stigma Assessment Scale and the Implicit Association Test were used to measure the participants’ explicit and implicit stigma.
Results
Neither explicit nor implicit stigma differed between two groups at baseline. The medical, but not the non-medical, undergraduate students had a significant decrease in explicit stigma during the 1-month period of follow-up. Neither the medical nor the non-medical undergraduate students exhibited a significant change in implicit stigma during the one-month of follow-up, however. There was an interactive effect between group and time on explicit stigma but not on implicit stigma.
Conclusion
Explicit but not implicit stigma toward mental illness decreased in the medical undergraduate students after a psychiatric clerkship. Further study is needed to examine how to improve implicit stigma toward mental illness.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grant NSC102-2314-B-037-008-MY2 awarded by the National Science Council, Taiwan (ROC) and the grant KMUH102-2R52 and KMUH103-3R60.
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Wang, PW., Ko, CH., Chen, CS. et al. Changes of Explicit and Implicit Stigma in Medical Students during Psychiatric Clerkship. Acad Psychiatry 40, 224–228 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-015-0432-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-015-0432-8