The Relationship between University Students' Beliefs toward Mental Illness and Stigmatization

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the beliefs toward mental illness and stigmatization of health sciences faculty students.

This descriptive study was carried out with the students of health sciences faculty in Istanbul. The sample population was composed of 792 students who agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected using the Information Form, Beliefs toward Mental Illness (BMI) scale, and Stigma scale through e-mail.

The sociodemographic data of the students showed that 82.8% were female, 98.7% were single, and 30.8% were third-grade students. Of the students, 4.7% were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, and 27% of them were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and 73.1% had not received any education related to mental illness. The mean scores of all BMI scale subdimensions were statistically significant for students diagnosed with mental illness than those for the ones who were not diagnosed with mental illness. The average stigmatization score was statistically significantly higher for students diagnosed with mental illness than that for the ones who were not diagnosed with mental illness.

As the negative beliefs toward mental illness increase, the stigmatization rates also increase; furthermore, students who are not educated are more likely to stigmatize.