Exploring the knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani university students towards mental illnesses
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Abstract
Background: The objectives of the study were to explore the knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani university students toward mental illnesses. People with mental illnesses are challenged not only by their symptoms but also by the prejudices associated with their illness. Acknowledging the stigma of mental illness should be the first essential step toward devising an appropriate treatment plan.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the University of Punjab, Lahore, CMH Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, and University of Sargodha, Sub-campus Lahore, from February to May, 2014. The self-administered questionnaire consisted of three sections: demographics, general knowledge of psychiatric illnesses, and a modified form of the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illnesses (CAMI) Scale. The questionnaire was distributed to 650 participants enrolled in different disciplines (Social Sciences, Medicine and Formal Sciences).
Results: Response rate was 81% (527/650 respondents). Mean age was 20.98 years. Most of the students (331, 62.8%) had an urban background and studied Social Sciences (238, 45.2%). 418 (79.3%) considered religion very important and most respondents considered psychiatrists (334, 63.4%) and spiritual leaders (72, 13.7%) to be best able to treat mental illnesses. 169 (32.1%) considered black magic to be a cause of mental illness. Only 215 (41%) had ever read an article on mental illnesses. Multiple regression analysis revealed study discipline, exposure, perceived causes of mental illnesses and superstitions to be significantly associated with attitudes towards mental illnesses (p < .05).
Conclusion: Although low awareness and exposure were found in this sample of Pakistani university students, their attitude towards mental illnesses was generally positive. Most respondents gave supernatural explanations for mental illnesses but only a few believed that spiritual leaders can play a role in treatment.
Cite this as
2014. Exploring the knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani university students towards mental illnesses. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e454v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.454v1Author comment
This manuscript has been submitted in another journal for publication on 4th August, 2014.
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Consent Form
Consent Form for participation in survey titles "exploring the knowledge and attitudes of university students towards mental illnesses".
Dataset
Dataset for "exploring the knowledge and attitudes of university students towards mental illnesses"
Additional Information
Competing Interests
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
Author Contributions
Ahmed Waqas conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Muhammad Zubair conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Hamza Ghulam performed the experiments, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Muhammad Wajih ullah performed the experiments, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Zubair Tariq performed the experiments, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Muhammad Arshad performed the experiments, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Muhammad Asim Shabbir performed the experiments, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Ayeshah Sarfaraz conceived and designed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Human Ethics
The following information was supplied relating to ethical approvals (i.e., approving body and any reference numbers):
It was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry.
An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed (convenience sampling) to 650 students enrolled in degree programs in various disciplines (Social Sciences, Medicine and Formal Sciences) who were willing to participate in the survey. Written informed consent was provided by each participant. They were informed about the objectives of the survey and ensured anonymity and that only group-level (not individual) findings would be reported.
Data Deposition
The following information was supplied regarding the deposition of related data:
The data files have been submitted in Plos One as additional files.
Funding
The authors declare there was no funding for this work.
