Antidepressant awareness and stigmatizing attitudes toward depression and antidepressants, a comparison between first and sixth-year medical students.

In this study, the views of first and sixth-year medical students were examined. We aimed to show the potential effect of public information and 6 years of medical education on knowledge and awareness. METHOD: Our target population was first and sixth-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, during the semester 2018-2019. For measurement, widely used scales such as the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory were administered. In addition, scales formed specifically by our research team: Sociodemographic information form and Depression and Antidepressant Awareness and Knowledge Scale were used. RESULTS: Compared to first-year participants, sixth-year participants had significantly less stigmatizing views on individual statements. The overall stigma score of sixth-year participants was significantly lower (p < .05) than first-year participants. Linear Regression Analysis showed that the only predictor of overall stigma score was the depression score (p < .05, beta = -0.36), which acted as a negative predictor. DISCUSSION: Sixth-year participants had higher rates of diagnosed psychiatric illness and psychiatric drug usage. Interestingly, the score was not a predictor of the overall stigma score. However, in the responses to individual statements, we observed an overall increase in knowledge and decreased stigma among the sixth-year participants compared to first-year partici...
Source: The International Journal of Social Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Int J Soc Psychiatry Source Type: research