Public awareness of the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment may reduce stigma

Abstract

Stigmatization is of importance in mental disorders. It is widely believed that one of the most important factors in stigmatization is considering the patients as dangerous. This study aims at analyzing the impact of knowledge regarding the chances of treating mental illness. Materials and Methods: 700 final year university students filled out the Dangerousness Scale and gave their opinions on whether mental illnesses are treatable. Results: The results showed that the subjects who think that the chance of treatment for mental diseases does not exist find mentally ill people more dangerous than the subjects who declare the opposite. On the basis of this finding, it can be suggested that drawing public attention to the therapeutic advances in psychiatry may lead to a decrease in stigmatization.