{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T09:43:54Z","timestamp":1788860634292,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639353600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Background:<\/jats:bold> According to epidemiological data, over 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental disorders, presenting one of the major challenges of modern medicine. In their everyday lives, patients, in addition to fighting the disease itself, often struggle with stigmatization. This phenomenon negatively affects both the diagnostic and therapeutic processes, as well as the patients' everyday functioning. This study aimed to assess stigma attitudes toward psychiatry and psychiatric patients among undergraduate medical students.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold> This study used a Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI), which included the standardized items from the Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes (MICA-2) scale to evaluate stigma. The study was disseminated via the internet to students from medical universities from 65 countries worldwide. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. The study involved 1,216 students from these 65 countries. Most of the sample were women, and most were medical faculty students and students living in cities with more than 500,000 residents. Taking into consideration Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and Human Development Index (HDI) variables, it can be seen that there was a prevalence of medical students from highly developed countries.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> For the whole sample, the mean MICA-2 score was 40.5 points. Women and medical and nursing students showed more positive attitudes toward psychiatric patients. Students from countries with the highest economic development levels also achieved statistically lower MICA-2 scores. Lower score means a more positive attitude.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold> Stigma toward both psychiatry and psychiatric patients is common among undergraduate medical students. Female students and respondents with a history of mental disorders in countries with high HDI and GDP per capita indices show more favorable attitudes than other medical students. There is a need to further our understanding of the problem of stigmatization, both among the general population and among medical personnel, and to implement and maintain appropriate measures to reduce stigma toward psychiatry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.798909","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T07:35:41Z","timestamp":1639380941000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":33,"title":["Stigma Levels Toward Psychiatric Patients Among Medical Students\u2014A Worldwide Online Survey Across 65 Countries"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Mateusz","family":"Babicki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Ma\u0142ecka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Kowalski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bogna","family":"Bogudzi\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patryk","family":"Piotrowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"270","DOI":"10.4103\/0019-5545.192012","article-title":"Contemporary issues for delivery of mental health services in Commonwealth countries","volume":"58","author":"Prasad","year":"2016","journal-title":"Indian J Psychiatry."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1007\/s11920-017-0780-z","article-title":"Challenges and opportunities in global mental health: a research-to-practice perspective","volume":"19","author":"Wainberg","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr Psychiatry Rep."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-015-0307-4","article-title":"Impact of a psychiatry clerkship on stigma, attitudes towards psychiatry, and psychiatry as a career choice","volume":"15","author":"Lyons","year":"2015","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1192\/bji.2017.29","article-title":"Recruitment to psychiatry: a global problem","volume":"16","author":"Brown","year":"2019","journal-title":"BJPsych Int."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1011","DOI":"10.12740\/PP\/19016","article-title":"Stigmatization on the way to recovery in mental illness\u2013the factors directly linked to psychiatric therapy","volume":"47","author":"Tyszkowska","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychiatr Pol."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.bp.106.025791","article-title":"Stigma: ignorance, prejudice or discrimination?","volume":"190","author":"Thornicroft","year":"2007","journal-title":"Br J Psychiatry."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"68","DOI":"10.1177\/002214650404500105","article-title":"Fear of people with mental illnesses: the role of personal and impersonal contact and exposure to threat or harm","volume":"45","author":"Phelan","year":"2004","journal-title":"J Health Soc Behav."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-014-0931-z","article-title":"Differential stigmatizing attitudes of healthcare professionals towards psychiatry and patients with mental health problems: something to worry about? 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