Mind-Body dualism and medical student attitudes toward mental illness in Saudi Arabia

Autor: Haythum O Tayeb, Yousef Alsawwaf, Samia Kokandi, Abrar Baduwailan, Faten Alzaben, Nadim Shafique Butt, Ahmed N. Hassan, Harold G. Koenig
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. 58:214-230
ISSN: 1541-3527
0091-2174
DOI: 10.1177/00912174221099341
Popis: Background Philosophical beliefs regarding the origin of mental illness may underlie resistance to psychiatric treatment and affect attitudes toward the mentally ill. Aim The present study sought to: (1) identify characteristics of medical students who hold mind-brain dualism (MBD) beliefs and (2) determine relationships between MBD beliefs and perceptions of mental illnesses. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that asked medical students questions about mind-brain beliefs and religiosity. Three fictitious vignettes (schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder [APD], and depression) were presented and then students asked about how much participants felt the patients in these scenarios bore responsibility for their illness. A MBD score was calculated to measure MBD beliefs, and a total responsibility score (RS) was used to measure patient blameworthiness. Mediation analysis was used to examine whether MBD beliefs explained the relationship between religiosity and perceived patient responsibility for their illness, and whether this was moderated by gender. Results The questionnaire was completed by 106 Saudi medical students. The average RS was highest for the APD scenario and lowest for schizophrenia, whereas depression fell intermediate between those two (ANOVA F (1.82, 219.83) = 27.21, P < .001). Religiosity was positively correlated with RS, a relationship that was mediated by MBD in all three vignettes. Conclusion Mind-brain dualism beliefs among medical students in Saudi Arabia were associated with greater perceptions of self-infliction, preventability, controllability, and blameworthiness for patients with mental illness, moderated by gender. Greater emphasis on the neurobiological aspects of psychiatric disorders might help to change this attitude.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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