title: Positive attitudes towards psychiatry among Chinese medical students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increasingly positive attitudes have been reported among young people in China towards mental illness, but little is known about Chinese medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry, psychiatric services and patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We administered a bilingual survey to Wuhan University medical students in the final years of their clinical training. Primary outcomes were composite scores on a 21-item attitudes toward psychiatry (ATP) survey and the number of correct responses to diagnostic questions following a series of three clinical case vignettes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean composite score on the ATP items was 78/105 (SD = 9.6), representing overall positive attitudes among the students. Female gender and having learned about more psychiatric disorders were positively associated with a higher mean ATP score and remained so after adjustment for relevant covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chinese medical students reported positive attitudes towards psychiatry, openness with regard to psychiatric services, and respect for psychiatric patients. Learning about a broad spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses and greater clinical contact with patients may improve overall attitudes of Chinese medical students towards psychiatry and their ability to make accurate diagnoses.
authors.affiliation: 1Psychiatry Resident at Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Renslow
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sherer
authors.forename: Ivy
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D002681:China; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Medical students; attitudes toward mental illness; medical education in China; mental health in China; psychiatric training