Determinants of Mental Health Stigma Among Pharmacy Students in Australia, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, India and Latvia

Background: Healthcare professionals commonly exhibit negative attitudes toward people with mental disorders. Few international studies have sought to investigate the determinants of stigma.Objective: To conduct an international comparison of pharmacy students’ stigma towards people with schizophrenia, and to determine whether stigma is consistently associated with stereotypical attributes of people with schizophrenia.Method: Students (n = 649) at eight universities in Australia, Belgium, India, Finland, Estonia and Latvia completed a seven-item Social Distance Scale (SDS) and six items related to stereotypical attributes of people with schizophrenia.Results: Mean SDS scores were 19.65 (± 3.97) in Australia, 19.61 (± 2.92) in Belgium, 18.75 (± 3.57) in India, 18.05 (± 3.12) in Finland, and 20.90 (± 4.04) in Estonia and Latvia. Unpredictability was most strongly associated with having a high social distance in Australia (β = —1.285), the perception that people will never recover in India (β = — 0.881), dan...