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Medical Students’ Attitudes Toward Mental Disorders Before and After a Psychiatric Rotation

Received July 21, 2004; revised December 20, 2004; accepted January 13, 2005. Mr. Galka is a Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Dr. Perkins is Professor of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Dr. Butler is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Griffith is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Schmetzer is Professor of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Avirrappattu is Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Kean University, Union, New Jersey. Dr. Lafuze is Professor of Biology, Indiana University East, Richmond, Indiana. Address correspondence to Dr. Schmetzer, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1111 West Tenth Street, Suite A-212, Indianapolis, IN 46202-4800; aschmetz{at}iupui.edu (E-mail). Copyright © 2005 Academic Psychiatry.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines medical students’ attitudes about mental illness before and after a six-week psychiatry rotation. METHODS: Six hundred seventy-two third-year students at Indiana University completed pre- and postrotation surveys assessing attitudes about causes and treatments of mental illness. We conducted paired sample t tests to identify pre- and postrotation differences in attitudes. RESULTS: Following the rotation, students perceived biological and social causes of mental disorders as more important and treatments as more effective but showed no change in their beliefs about the importance of working with families. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a psychiatry rotation can strengthen student attitudes about biologically- and socially-based causes and community based treatments for mental illness.

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