Female Students’ Attitude toward Mental Illness in Qassim University, KSA

Abstract

Background: People’s beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness set the stage for how they interact with, provide opportunities for, and help support a person with mental illness. Objective: the present study aimed to assess the medical and non-medical female students' attitudes toward mental illness and psychiatric patients in Qassim University, KSA. Methods: descriptive design was adopted for the present study. Data collection took place from April to June 2014 via the Attitudes Scale for Mental Illness (ASMI) and Beliefs Scale for Mental Illness (BSMI); which tested in several studies worldwide. A total of 232 undergraduates were recruited from different colleges; 94 students from medical colleges “Nursing, Pharmacy Dentistry, Medicine and Applied Medical Science” and 138 from non-medical college “Business Administration”. Results: on the Separatism sub-scale, more medical students (93.6%) than non-medical students (85.5%) disagreed with the statement: ‘If a mental health facility is set up in my street or community, I will move out of the community’ (χ2=6.249, p<0.044) and these differences were not statistically significant. Medical and non-medical students responded similarly to statements in the Restrictiveness sub-scale. However, 86.2% of medical students compared to 87% of non-medical students agreed that the ‘After mentally ill patients are treated and rehabilitated, individuals should make friends of them’ (χ2=2.824, p<0.242).Conclusion: Medical and non-medical University students show broadly similar positive attitudes toward speople with a mental illness. There is scope for further research including examining the effects of educational interventions.