Stigmatizing attitudes towards depression among university students in Syria.

Journal: PloS one

Volume: 17

Issue: 9

Year of Publication: 2022

Affiliated Institutions:  Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria. Department of Psychiatry, Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Hospital, Srinagar, Kashmir, India. Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt. Department of Neurosurgery, Ibn Al-Nafess Hospital, Damascus, Syria. Faculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria. Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. The National Ribat University, Al-Ribat, Sudan. Faculty of Medicine, Albaath University, Homs, Syria. Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukrain. University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan. Nile Valley University, Atbra, Sudan. Environment and Sustainability Research Initiative, Khulna, Bangladesh. Department of Internal Medicine, Syrian Private University, Damascus, Syria. Internal Medicine and Tropical Medicine at Faculty of Medicine, Al Arish University, Al Shaba, Egypt.

Abstract summary 

Depression is a prominent cause of mental disability globally, having a severe impact on mental and physical health. Depression rehabilitation and treatment, whether through psychiatric management or counseling therapy, is hampered by stigmatizing attitudes regarding psychiatric illness patients impacted by societal and cultural factors. However, little is known about the stigma toward people with depression among the students in Syria.A total of 1,056 students in Syria completed a questionnaire that included a case narrative illustrating depression. A total of 1,056 students in Syria completed a questionnaire that included a case narrative illustrating depression. The survey looked at attitudes toward depression, the desire to keep a safe distance from depressed people, stigma attitudes toward people with depression among college students, perceived beliefs about depressive people, gender (male and female), and the major section (medical and medical and non-medical) differences.Four questionnaires have refused to finish the survey, out of 1259 issued. Around 47.80% of respondents, most of whom were females, felt that sad people might snap out of it. 14.60 percent believe depression isn't even an actual medical condition. Surprisingly, 2% of respondents with a medical background thought the same thing. Regarding more extreme stigmatization, 16.80% of respondents thought depressed persons were harmful. People with depression will be avoided by 19.50 percent of respondents, and people with medical backgrounds will be avoided by 5.20 percent of respondents. Nearly one-fifth of those polled said they would not tell anyone if they were depressed. Only a tiny percentage of respondents (6.90 percent) said they would not hire or vote for a politician who suffers from depression (8.40 percent).According to the study, Syrian college students had a significant level of stigma and social distance toward mentally ill patients. Female students and non-medical students had a higher stigma in most subscale items for people with depression.

Authors & Co-authors:  Swed Sarya S Sohib Sheikh S Fathy Hassan Noheir Ashraf Ibrahem NAI Almoshantaf Mohammad Badr MB Alkadi Sidra Mhd Sammer SMS AbdelQadir Yossef Hassan YH Ibrahim Nancy N Khair Lina Taha LT Bakkour Agyad A Muwaili Ali Hadi Hussein AHH Muwaili Dhuha Hadi Hussein DHH Abdelmajid Fatima Abubaker Abdalla FAA Ahmad Eman Mohammed Sharif EMS Patwary Muhammad Mainuddin MM Sawaf Bisher B Albuni Mhd Kutaiba MK Battikh Elias E Elkalagi Nashaat Kamal Hamdy NKH

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations :  Richa C. and Doron T., Depression: symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Depression, 2021.
Authors :  18
Identifiers
Doi : e0273483
SSN : 1932-6203
Study Population
Female
Mesh Terms
Depression
Other Terms
Study Design
Case Study,Narrative Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
United States