2001 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 144-155
The aim of the present study is to re-examine the effects of contact experience on the attitudes of medical students toward the mentally disordered. The Attitudes toward Mental Disorder (AMD) Scale, considered to be a psychometrically sound data collection instrument, was used to assess the attitudes of 32 female and 49 male medical students who had contact experiences through their neuropsychiatric bedside training. Scores were calculated to assess negative attitudes in regards to two factors: perception and social distance. Scores on both factors significantly decreased after training showing positive attitudinal changes. Attitude scores for social distance were related to sex, anxiety state (as measured by the State-Trate Anxiety Inventory, or STAI), education, and previous contact experience. After training, male students did not show a significant change while female students did. Respondents who felt extreme anxiety before training did not show a significant change. Nor did respondents who rated themselves as having little or no understanding of a course in Neuropsychiatry given at college. Respondents with prior close contact experiences before receiving training scored significantly lower than those without such experiences. Moreover, respondents with experience benefited from contact with the mentally disordered as is evidenced by their lower scores after such contact.
