Stigma in mental illness: attitudes of medical students towards mental illness.

Background: Negative attitudes towards people with mental illness can be attributed to stigma. The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes of medical students towards mental illness by comparing those who have had contact with mental patients and those who have not. This study also assesses to what extent knowledge about mental illness can affect the students' attitude.

Methods: A vignette and two dependent measures (social distance scale and dangerousness scale) were used to assess the attitudes of medical students towards mental illness. They comprised of 108 first year and 85 final year medical students in University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. The first year students didn't have any prior psychiatric training.

Results: The final year students who had knowledge and contact (undergone 8 weeks of clinical psychiatric training) were less stigmatizing toward mentally ill patients. There were no significant differences in the attitudes towards mentally ill patient among the first year students (no knowledge) regardless they had previous contact or not.

Conclusions: Knowledge seems to have the effect in inculcating greater tolerance of mental illness. Contact by itself is not sufficient for attitude changes.