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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

SO319

Discrepancies between personal and societal beliefs about mental illness: a cross-cultural study of medical students in Croatia and Ireland

DISCREPANCIES IN PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY MENTAL ILLNESS BELIEFS: A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MEDICAL STUDENTS IN CROATIA AND IRELAND

Medical students' own causal beliefs were more evidence-based than the beliefs they attributed to society, and differences between the two countries were most pronounced in perceived societal beliefs.

The study aimed to examine discrepancies between medical students' personal beliefs about the causes of mental illness and perceived societal attitudes, as well as their cross-cultural patterns. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a total of 210 medical students in Croatia and Ireland (Croatia n = 145, Ireland n = 65; the conference abstract reported a sample of 215). Participants reported both personal and perceived societal beliefs regarding lifestyle factors, substance use, personal weakness, biochemical imbalance, sins, and supernatural causes; cross-cultural differences were analyzed using chi-square tests. Irish students were more likely than Croatian students to report that their society attributed mental illness to lifestyle factors (95.7% vs. 82.8%; p = 0.008), whereas there was no difference in personal beliefs (90.2% vs. 86.4%; p = 0.178). Biological explanations were more strongly endorsed in Ireland at both the perceived societal level (81.4% vs. 53.8%; p < 0.001) and the personal level (95.7% vs. 82.8%; p = 0.008). Croatian students, in contrast, were more likely to report that their society attributed mental illness to sins (29.0% vs. 15.7%; p = 0.035), although personal endorsement remained low in both countries (7.8% vs. 7.1%; p = 0.83). No significant differences were found in explanations involving substance use, supernatural causes, or personal weakness; in both countries, approximately 62% of students reported that their society attributed mental illness to personal weakness. The authors noted that addressing this clear discrepancy between personal and perceived societal beliefs in medical education could support more consistent, evidence-based, and culturally sensitive care.

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