Do psychiatric units at general hospitals attract less stigmatizing attitudes compared with psychiatric hospitals?

Aims. It is often assumed that psychiatric units at general hospitals attract less stigma than do specialized psychiatric hospitals, but so far this has not been examined empirically. Methods. We conducted a representative population survey in Germany (n = 2410) in order to compare attitudes towards psychiatric units and attitudes towards psychiatric hospitals. Two subsamples were presented with identical items concerning either psychiatric units or hospitals. We conducted multinomial logit analyses of answer categories to detect any differences in attitudes. Results. A majority of respondents held favourable opinions of psychiatric in-patient care at both psychiatric units and psychiatric hospitals. Attitudes towards units and hospitals did not differ meaningfully. Conclusions. The influence of location on the image of psychiatric care has been over-estimated. We discuss other implications of locating psychiatric care at general hospitals.