The Factors and Outcomes of Stigma Toward Mental Disorders in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background Medical students’ attitudes toward mental disorders have a large impact on patients’ health outcomes. However, there are few studies about stigma toward mental disorders in medical students in China. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 838 medical students completed questionnaires on their sociodemographic characteristics and familiarity with people diagnosed with mental disorders as well as the Community Attitudes toward Mental Illness Scale (CAMI). A multiple logistic regression model was built to explore the relationships among sociodemographic characteristics, familiarity with mental disorders and stigma. Results The total mean score of the CAMI was 137.61 (SD = 15.63). The score for authoritarianism (M = 33.33, SD = 3.62) was the lowest score of the four subscales. Stigma was significantly associated with students’ education, area of residence, marital status, economic status, history of mental disorders and contact with people diagnosed with mental disorders. Conclusions Medical students show a negative attitude toward mental illness to a certain degree, especially regarding the view that people with mental disorders are inferior. Higher education level, residence in urban areas, single marital status, better economic status, and better familiarity with mental disorders may be related to less stigma in medical students.

The moderating effects of colleagueship on the relationship between mental health and perceived stigma among Chinese firefighters.

“…Socioeconomic covariates selected based on the previous literature on mental health stigma (Kim et al, 2018; Meng et al, 2022) were as follows: age, area (urban, rural), marital status (married, else), educational level (high school and below, junior college, undergraduate and above), monthly income (<5,000 Yuan, 5,000–7,000 Yuan, >7,000 Yuan), and supervisors (yes, no).…”