Greek university student’s attitudes and beliefs concerning mental illness and its treatment

Chrysi K Kaparounaki, Chrysoula A Koraka, Eleni S Kotsi, Anna-Maria P Ntziovara, Gerasimos C Kyriakidis and Konstantinos N Fountoulakis

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2019, vol. 65, issue 6, 515-526

Abstract: Introduction: Stigma concerning mental disorder is a widespread phenomenon concerning the beliefs and attitudes of the public toward mental patients with a significant negative impact on state policy and the outcome of the patients. Material and methods: The study included 1,363 students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The survey was based on an Internet-based electronic platform. The statistical analysis included analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Yates corrected chi-square test. Results: Approximately, 87% of students responded that they know what mental disorder is, 70% were informed from the Internet, 30% consider mental patients responsible for their condition, more than 95% blame the way they were raised and almost 60% consider mental disorder to be heritable. Only a minority feel negatively with a mental patient around and close to 80% would socialize with them. More than 80% accept the need for psychiatric medication treatment but the opinion is split concerning compulsory treatment, and one-third consider medication to be harmful. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that most students believe they know much about mental illness; however, overall their responses are contradictory. They reply with confidence although they are informed mainly by the media and the Internet in an unreliable way. A number of factors including gender, specific school or personal experience of mental disorder in the family seem to influence the result. A combined educational plus contact might be necessary to reduce stigma, since education alone seems to exert a weak effect.

Keywords: Stigma; mental illness; Greece; students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:65:y:2019:i:6:p:515-526

DOI: 10.1177/0020764019864122

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