Attitudes towards People with Mental Illness and Low Interest in Psychiatry among Medical Students in Central and Eastern Europe

This study aimed to examine attitudes towards people with mental illness and psychiatry and interest in career choice in psychiatry among medical students from three medical schools in Czechia and Slovakia. A total of 495 medical students participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed (1) the Medical students' version of mental illness: clinicians' attitudes (MICA-2) scale, (2) the Reported and intended behaviour scale (RIBS), (3) the Attractiveness of working on a psychiatry-related position scale (P-ATTRACT), and (4) the Status of psychiatry scale (P-STATUS). Descriptive statistics, group comparisons and regression models were calculated. From 23 to 30% of students considered a specialization in psychiatry. However, only about 1% of them had a strong interest in psychiatry as a future career, moreover, students of higher years of study found psychiatry less attractive compared to those who are in the beginning of the study. The consideration of specialization in psychiatry was found to be statistically significantly associated with less stigmatizing attitudes and lower social distance towards people with mental illness. There were statistically significant differences in stigmatizing attitudes among medical schools, with a medical school emphasizing the education in psychiatry the most showing more positive attitudes. It is necessary to increase the interest in psychiatry and minimize stigma among medical students. Psychiatry curriculum in Central and Eastern European region should include more psychiatry-related courses, training in community and out-patient facilities, peer-lectors, and offer counselling after exposure to emotionally challenging clinical situations.