Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Attitudes towards People with Mental Illness and Low Interest in Psychiatry among Medical Students in Central and Eastern Europe

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Psychiatric Quarterly Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aimed to examine attitudes towards people with mental illness and psychiatry and interest in career choice in psychiatry among medical students from three medical schools in Czechia and Slovakia. A total of 495 medical students participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed (1) the Medical students’ version of mental illness: clinicians’ attitudes (MICA-2) scale, (2) the Reported and intended behaviour scale (RIBS), (3) the Attractiveness of working on a psychiatry-related position scale (P-ATTRACT), and (4) the Status of psychiatry scale (P-STATUS). Descriptive statistics, group comparisons and regression models were calculated. From 23 to 30% of students considered a specialization in psychiatry. However, only about 1% of them had a strong interest in psychiatry as a future career, moreover, students of higher years of study found psychiatry less attractive compared to those who are in the beginning of the study. The consideration of specialization in psychiatry was found to be statistically significantly associated with less stigmatizing attitudes and lower social distance towards people with mental illness. There were statistically significant differences in stigmatizing attitudes among medical schools, with a medical school emphasizing the education in psychiatry the most showing more positive attitudes. It is necessary to increase the interest in psychiatry and minimize stigma among medical students. Psychiatry curriculum in Central and Eastern European region should include more psychiatry-related courses, training in community and out-patient facilities, peer-lectors, and offer counselling after exposure to emotionally challenging clinical situations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Rüsch N, Angermeyer MC, Corrigan PW. Mental illness stigma: concepts, consequences, and initiatives to reduce stigma. Eur Psychiatry. 2005;20:529–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Link BG, Phelan JC. Conceptualizing Stigma. Annu Rev Sociol. 2001;27:363–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Corrigan PW, Edwards AB, Green A, Diwan SL, Penn DL. Prejudice, social distance, and familiarity with mental illness. Schizophr Bull. 2001;27:219–25.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Thornicroft G. Physical health disparities and mental illness: the scandal of premature mortality. Br J Psychiatry. 2011;199:441–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Krupchanka D, Mladá K, Winkler P, Khazaal Y, Albanese E. Mortality in people with mental disorders in the Czech Republic: a nationwide, register-based cohort study. Lancet Public Heal. 2018;3:e289–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Starace F, Mungai F, Baccari F, Galeazzi GM. Excess mortality in people with mental illness: findings from a northern Italy psychiatric case register. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2018;53:249–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Walker ER, McGee RE, Druss BG. Mortality in mental disorders and global disease burden implications. JAMA Psychiat. 2015;72:334–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Clement S, Schauman O, Graham T, Maggioni F, Evans-Lacko S, Bezborodovs N, et al. What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. Psychol Med. 2015;45:11–27.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Corrigan PW, Druss BG, Perlick DA. The impact of mental illness stigma on seeking and participating in mental health care. Psychol Sci Public Interes Suppl. 2014;15:37–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Thornicroft G, Rose D, Kassam A, Sartorius N. Stigma: ignorance, prejudice or discrimination? Br J Psychiatry. 2007;190:192–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Druss B, Rosenheck R, Desai M, Care JP-M. 2002 U. Quality of preventive medical care for patients with mental disorders Med Care. 2002;40:129–36.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Koroukian S, Bakaki P, Golchin N. … CT-A journal of, 2012 U. mental illness and use of screening mammography among Medicaid beneficiaries. Elsevier. 2012;42:606–9.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Osborn D, Baio G. Walters K, … IP-S, 2011 U. Inequalities in the provision of cardiovascular screening to people with severe mental illnesses in primary care: cohort study in the United Kingdom THIN Primary Care Schizophr Res. 2011;129:104–10.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ay P, Save D, Fidanoglu O. Does stigma concerning mental disorders differ through medical education? A survey among medical students in Istanbul. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2006;41:63–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Korszun A, Dinos S, Ahmed K, Bhui K. Medical student attitudes about mental illness: does medical-school education reduce stigma? Acad Psychiatry. 2012;36:197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Magliano L, Read J, Sagliocchi A, Patalano M, Oliviero N. Effect of diagnostic labeling and causal explanations on medical students’ views about treatments for psychosis and the need to share information with service users. Psychiatry Res. 2013;210:402–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Wimsatt LA, Schwenk TL, Sen A. Predictors of depression stigma in medical students: potential targets for prevention and education. Am J Prev Med. 2015;49:703–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Janoušková M, Weissová A, Formánek T, Pasz J, Bankovská ML. Mental illness stigma among medical students and teachers. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2017;63:744–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Feeney L, Jordan I, McCarron P. Teaching recovery to medical students. Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2013;36:35–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Farooq K, Lydall GJ, Bhugra D. What attracts medical students towards psychiatry? A review of factors before and during medical school. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2013;25:371–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Schulze B. Stigma and mental health professionals: a review of the evidence on an intricate relationship. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2007;19:137–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Stuart H, Sartorius N, Liinamaa T, Artounian V, Bennett DM, Boer M, et al. Images of psychiatry and psychiatrists. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2015;131:21–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Farooq K, Lydall GJ, Malik A, Ndetei DM, Bhugra D, Alemu YB, et al. Why medical students choose psychiatry - a 20 country cross-sectional survey. BMC Med Educ. 2014;14:12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Sartorius N, Kuyken W. Translation of health status instruments. In: J O, W K, editors. Qual life Assess Int Perspect. Berlin: Springer; 1994. p. 3–18.

  25. Kassam A, Glozier N, Leese M, Henderson C, Thornicroft G. Development and responsiveness of a scale to measure clinicians’ attitudes to people with mental illness (medical student version). Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2010;122:153–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Evans-Lacko S, Rose D, Little K, Flach C, Rhydderch D, Henderson C, et al. Development and psychometric properties of the reported and intended behaviour scale (RIBS): a stigma-related behaviour measure. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2011;20:263–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Holmes EP, Corrigan PW, Williams P, Canar J, Kubiak MA. Changing attitudes about schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 1999;25:447–56.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. de Cates AN, de Cates P, Singh SP, Marwaha S. Can curriculum design influence medical students’ attitudes to psychiatry? A comparison of two different approaches. Med Teach. 2019;41:939–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Kuhnigk O, Hofmann M, Böthern AM, Haufs C, Bullinger M, Harendza S. Influence of educational programs on attitudes of medical students towards psychiatry: effects of psychiatric experience, gender, and personality dimensions. Med Teach. 2009;31:e303–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Abdulghani HM, Al-Shaikh G, Alhujayri AK, Alohaideb NS, Alsaeed HA, Alshohayeb IS, et al. What determines the selection of undergraduate medical students to the specialty of their future careers? Med Teach. 2013;35:S25–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Pianosi K, Bethune C, Hurley KF. Medical student career choice: a qualitative study of fourth-year medical students at Memorial University. Newfoundland C Open. 2016;4:E147–52.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Cutler JL, Harding KJ, Mozian SA, Wright LL, Pica AG, Masters SR, et al. Discrediting the notion “working with ‘crazies’ will make you ‘crazy’”: addressing stigma and enhancing empathy in medical student education. Adv Heal Sci Educ. 2009;14:487–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Pessar LF, Pristach CA, Leonard KE. What troubles clerks in psychiatry? A strategy to explore the question. Acad Psychiatry. 2008;32:194–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Yakeley J, Hale R, Johnston J, Kirtchuk G, Shoenberg P. Psychiatry, subjectivity and emotion–deepening the medical model. Psychiatr Bull. 2014;38:97–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Availability of Data and Material

Not applicable.

Funding

This study was supported by the “Sustainability for the National Institute of Mental Health” (grant LO1611), with a financial support from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. Further, LBM was also founded by the Progres Q35 grant conducted at the Charles University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, Klecany, Czech Republic

    Miroslava Janoušková, Tomáš Formánek, Aneta Alexová & Petr Winkler

  2. Third Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Charles University, Ruská 2411/87, Prague, Czech Republic

    Miroslava Janoušková & Lucie Bankovská Motlová

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Epidemiology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Šafárikovo námestie 6, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Alexandra Bražinová

  4. Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Department of Psychiatry, Charles University, Sokolská 581, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

    Petr Mílek

Authors
  1. Miroslava Janoušková
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tomáš Formánek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alexandra Bražinová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Petr Mílek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Aneta Alexová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Petr Winkler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lucie Bankovská Motlová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miroslava Janoušková.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

Approvals were obtained from the ethics committees of 3FM Prague, FM Hradec Králové and FM Bratislava.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Janoušková, M., Formánek, T., Bražinová, A. et al. Attitudes towards People with Mental Illness and Low Interest in Psychiatry among Medical Students in Central and Eastern Europe. Psychiatr Q 92, 407–418 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09817-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09817-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation