title: Spanish medical students' attitudes and views towards mental health and psychiatry: a multicentric cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatry among fifth year Spanish medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 171 students from three medical schools located in different areas of Spain: Cádiz; UCA (n = 113), Madrid; San Pablo-CEU (n = 22), and Barcelona; UAB (n = 36). They responded, prior to their undergraduate medical course in psychiatry, to the AMI questionnaire to measure the attitudes towards mental illness and to Balon's adapted questionnaire to investigate their view towards psychiatry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The students (93.4 %) had a positive attitude towards mental illness (AMI). Attitudes towards psychiatry were fairly positive with a few negative views, specifically regarding the role of psychiatrists (items 11 and 13) and the prestige of the specialty (item 16). There were some statistically significant differences between the three medical schools in the perception of psychiatry as a medical discipline. A better attitude towards mental illness was associated with a better view of the overall merits of psychiatry.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that Spanish medical students do not have a negative attitude towards mental illness and they have a good perception of psychiatry, although there are still some misconceptions about this specialty. These student's attitudes could favor an appropriate management of patients suffering from mental illness.
authors.affiliation: University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Failde
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Elorza
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Casais
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Luis Caballero
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gilaberte
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013030:Spain; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult