5 research outputs found
Improving psychology students' attitudes toward people with schizophrenia: A quasirandomized controlled study
Despite scientific evidence that the majority of people with schizophrenia (PWS) have personal histories of traumatic life events and adversities, their needs for psychological support often remain unmet. Poor availability of nonpharmacological therapies in schizophrenia may be partly because of professionals' attitudes toward people diagnosed with this disorder. As future health professionals, psychology students represent a target population for efforts to increase the probability that PWS will be offered effective psychological therapies. This quasi-randomized controlled study investigated the effect of an educational intervention, addressing common prejudices via scientific evidence and prerecorded audio-testimony from PWS, on the attitudes of psychology students toward PWS. Students in their fifth year of a master's degree in Psychology at the Second University of Naples, Italy were randomly assigned to an experimental group-which attended two 3-hr sessions a week apart-or to a control group. Compared with their baseline assessment, at 1-month reassessment the 76 educated students endorsed more psychosocial causes and more of them recommended psychologists in the treatment of schizophrenia. They were also more optimistic about recovery, less convinced that PWS are recognizable and unpredictable, and more convinced that treatments, pharmacological and psychological, are useful. No significant changes were found, from baseline to 1-month reassessment, in the 112 controls. At 1-month reassessment, educated students were more optimistic about recovery and less convinced that PWS are unpredictable than controls. These findings suggest that psychology students' attitudes toward PWS can be improved by training initiatives including education and indirect contact with users
The Influence of Causal Explanations and Diagnostic Labeling on Psychology Students’ Beliefs About Treatments, Prognosis, Dangerousness and Unpredictability in Schizophrenia
This study explored views of 566 Italian psychology students about schizophrenia. The most frequently cited
causes were psychological traumas (68%) and heredity (54%). Thirty-three percent of students firmly believed
that people with the condition could recover. Reporting heredity among the causes, and identifying schizophrenia
were both associated with prognostic pessimism, greater confidence in pharmacological treatments and lower
confidence in psychological treatments. Schizophrenia labeling was also associated with higher perception of
unpredictability and dangerousness. Compared to first year students, fourth/fifth year students more frequently
reported heredity among the causes, and were more pessimistic about schizophrenia recovery. Stigma topics
should be included in future psychologists’ education
Improving Psychology Students’ Attitudes Toward People With Schizophrenia: A Quasi- Randomized Controlled Study.
Despite scientific evidence that the majority of People With Schizophrenia (PWS) have personal histories of
traumatic life events and adversities, their needs for psychological support often remain unmet. Poor availability
of non-pharmacological therapies in schizophrenia may be partly due to professionals’ attitudes toward people
diagnosed with this disorder. As future health professionals, psychology students represent a target population for
efforts to increase the probability that PWS will be offered effective psychological therapies. This quasirandomized
controlled study investigated the effect of an educational intervention, addressing common prejudices
via scientific evidence and pre-recorded audio-testimony from PWS, on the attitudes of psychology students
towards PWS. Students in their fifth year of a master’s degree in Psychology at the Second University of Naples,
Italy were randomly assigned to an experimental group – which attended two three-hour sessions a week apart -
– or to a control group. Compared to their baseline assessment, at one-month reassessment, the 76 educated
students endorsed more psychosocial causes and more of them recommended psychologists in the treatment of
schizophrenia. They were also more optimistic about recovery, less convinced that PWS are recognizable and
unpredictable and more convinced that treatments, pharmacological and psychological, are useful. No significant
changes were found, from baseline to one-month reassessment, in the 112 controls. At one-month reassessment,
educated students were more optimistic about recovery and less convinced that PWS are unpredictable than
controls. These findings suggest that psychology students’ attitudes toward PWS can be improved by training
initiatives including education and indirect contact with users
Journal of system design and dynamics : JSDD
This study explored views of 566 Italian psychology students about schizophrenia. The most frequently cited causes were psychological traumas (68 %) and heredity (54 %). Thirty-three percent of students firmly believed that people with the condition could recover. Reporting heredity among the causes, and identifying schizophrenia were both associated with prognostic pessimism, greater confidence in pharmacological treatments and lower confidence in psychological treatments. Schizophrenia labeling was also associated with higher perception of unpredictability and dangerousness. Compared to first year students, fourth/fifth year students more frequently reported heredity among the causes, and were more pessimistic about schizophrenia recovery. Stigma topics should be included in future psychologists' education.This study explored views of 566 Italian psychology students about schizophrenia. The most frequently cited causes were psychological traumas (68 %) and heredity (54 %). Thirty-three percent of students firmly believed that people with the condition could recover. Reporting heredity among the causes, and identifying schizophrenia were both associated with prognostic pessimism, greater confidence in pharmacological treatments and lower confidence in psychological treatments. Schizophrenia labeling was also associated with higher perception of unpredictability and dangerousness. Compared to first year students, fourth/fifth year students more frequently reported heredity among the causes, and were more pessimistic about schizophrenia recovery. Stigma topics should be included in future psychologists’ education