MEDICAL-STUDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARDS PSYCHIATRY IN GREECE

The present study shows a conceptual/ideological shift in the attitude s towards psychiatry of 146 fourth-year medical students after a 4-mon th, twice a week, psychiatry course. Attitude assessment was carried o ut using the Libertarian Mental Health Ideology Scale (LMHIS). The att itudinal change consisted of a shift to a more medical orientation. Tw o years later, 72 of the above students, those who selected a psychiat ry rather than a neurology training during their sixth year of educati on, seemed to keep the achieved attitudinal shift stable. The above fi ndings are discussed in relation to the pertinent literature and the i mportant influence of the undergraduate psychiatric training on the st udents' attitudes towards psychiatry is outlined.