ATTITUDE OF THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TOWARDS MENTALLY ILL, IN LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Authors

  • Zahid Javed
  • Farooq Naeem
  • David Kingdon
  • Muhammad Irfan
  • Nasir Izhar
  • Muhammad Ayub

Abstract

Background: Although, much is known about the attitudes and beliefs people hold towardsmental illness in the west, no such work has been done in the developing countries. It is difficult tomeasure the attitudes of the general public in developing countries due to differences interminology and concepts of the illness. However, majority of educated people in the developingcountries can recognise common psychiatric disorders by their western names. We therefore,decided to measure attitudes of university students and teachers in Lahore, Pakistan. This studywas carried out to assess the attitude of university students and teachers in Lahore, Pakistan.Methods: A survey form was circulated among the university students and the teachers in Lahore,Pakistan. Of the 300 survey forms 194 were returned. Results: Majority of the respondents heldnegative attitudes towards people with schizophrenia, depression and drug and alcohol disorders.Conclusions: The views held by the university teachers and students reveal negative attitudestowards mentally ill. Attitudes of those who knew someone with mental illness were similar tothose who did not.

References

Crisp AH. The stigmatisation of sufferers with mental

disorders. Br J Gen Prac 1997;49:3 -4

Crisp AH, Gelder MG, Rix S. The stigmatisation of

people with mental illness. Br J Psych 2000;177:4 -7

Byrne P. Psychiatric stigma: past, passing and to come.

J Royal Society of Medicine 1997;90:618-21

Link BG, Struening EL, Rahav M. On stigma and its

consequences: evidence from a longitudinal study of

men with dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance

abuse. J Health Social behaviour 1997;38:177-90

Jorm AF, Jacomb PA, Christensen H. Attitudes towards

people with a mental disorder: a survey of the

Australian public and health professionals. Australian

and Newzeland Journal of Psychiatry 1999;33:77-83

Byrne P.Psychiatric stigma. Br J Psych 2001; 178:281-

Faberga H Jr. Psychiatric stigma in non-western

societies. Comprehensive Psychiatry 1991;32(6):534-51

Mukherjee, R., Fialho, A., Wijetunge, K., et al (2002).

The stigmatisation of mental illness: the attitudes of

medical students and doctors in a london teaching

hospital, 26, 178-181

Singh, S., Baxtre, H., Standen, P., et al (1988)

Changing the attitudes of tomorrows doctors towards

mental illness and psychiatry: a comparison of two

teaching methods. Medical education, 32, 115-120

Downloads

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2 3 4 > >>