Totic, Sanja (16158855800)Sanja (16158855800)ToticStojiljković, Dragan (28867482100)Dragan (28867482100)StojiljkovićPavlovic, Zorana (24831071100)Zorana (24831071100)PavlovicZaric, Nenad (57079342300)Nenad (57079342300)ZaricZarkovic, Boris (55080074700)Boris (55080074700)ZarkovicMalic, Ljubica (55345998600)Ljubica (55345998600)MalicMihaljevic, Marina (55345716000)Marina (55345716000)MihaljevicJašović-Gašić, Miroslava (55945351100)Miroslava (55945351100)Jašović-GašićMarić, Nadja P. (57226219191)Nadja P. (57226219191)Marić2025-06-122025-06-122012https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764011408542https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84865530051&doi=10.1177%2f0020764011408542&partnerID=40&md5=6141888f95ca0db0954419f87c6b024ehttps://remedy.med.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/9626Backround: Stigmatization of psychiatric patients is present both in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Aim: To determine the attitudes and behaviour of medical students towards a person who goes to a psychiatrist, before and after psychiatric rotation, and to compare those attitudes between medical and non-medical students. Methods: The study included 525 medical students (second and sixth year of studies) and 154 students of law. The study instrument was a three-part self-reported questionnaire (socio-demographic data, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a vignette depicting a young, mentally healthy person). The experimental intervention consisted of ascribing a psychiatric label to only one set of vignettes. All the vignettes (with or without the psychiatric label) were followed by 14 statements addressing the acceptance of a person described by vignette, as judged by social distance (four-point Likert scale). Results: Higher tendency to stigmatize was found in medical students in the final year, after psychiatric rotation (Z U = ?3.12, P = .002), particularly in a closer relationship (Z U = ?2.67, P = .007) between a student and a hypothetical person who goes to a psychiatrist. The non-medical students had a similar tendency to stigmatize as medical students before psychiatric rotation (Z U = ?0.03, P = .975). Neither gender, nor the size of students place of origin or average academic mark was associated with the tendency to stigmatize in our sample. However, students elf-esteem was lower in those with a tendency to stigmatize more in a distant relationship (P = ?0.157, P = .005). Conclusions: Psychiatric education can either reinforce stigmatization or reduce it. Therefore, detailed analyses of educational domains that reinforce stigma will be the starting point for anti-stigma action. © The Author(s) 2011.discriminationmedical educationmedical studentspsychiatrystigma