Anuradha Baminiwatta1, Miyuru Chandradasa2, Shavindra Dias3, Dileepa Ediriweera2. 1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka. baminiwatta@kln.ac.lk. 2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka. 3. Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Among the scales developed for assessing medical students' attitudes regarding psychiatry, "attitude towards psychiatry-30" (ATP-30) is probably the most widely used. Although this scale was originally deemed to form a unitary dimension without any meaningful subscales, the authors sought to re-examine its factor structure and the viability of subscales. METHOD: Secondary data from a survey of 743 final-year medical students from nine medical schools in Sri Lanka were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with promax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), to assess the underlying factor structure of ATP-30. Parallel analysis was used in determining the number of factors to retain. Items conceptually external to the emerging factors were discarded. RESULTS: Three models based on literature (one-, five-, and eight-factor) were disproved by CFA. A six-factor solution encompassing 18 items was supported by EFA and CFA and was gender-invariant. These factors were, namely, the image of psychiatrists, psychiatric patients and mental illness, the efficacy of treatment, psychiatric teaching, career choice, and psychiatry as an evidence-based discipline. While "the image of psychiatrists" formed the most consistent subscale (ω = 0.71), the internal consistencies of the other subscales were modest (ω = 0.55-0.67). The overall 18-item scale showed good internal consistency (ω = 0.78). CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence of a multi-dimensional structure in medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry, endorsing six meaningful subscales of the ATP-30. Future researchers and educators can utilize these subscales in identifying specific areas where students' attitudes are more stigmatized, to be intervened during undergraduate training.
OBJECTIVE: Among the scales developed for assessing medical students' attitudes regarding psychiatry, "attitude towards psychiatry-30" (ATP-30) is probably the most widely used. Although this scale was originally deemed to form a unitary dimension without any meaningful subscales, the authors sought to re-examine its factor structure and the viability of subscales. METHOD: Secondary data from a survey of 743 final-year medical students from nine medical schools in Sri Lanka were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with promax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), to assess the underlying factor structure of ATP-30. Parallel analysis was used in determining the number of factors to retain. Items conceptually external to the emerging factors were discarded. RESULTS: Three models based on literature (one-, five-, and eight-factor) were disproved by CFA. A six-factor solution encompassing 18 items was supported by EFA and CFA and was gender-invariant. These factors were, namely, the image of psychiatrists, psychiatric patients and mental illness, the efficacy of treatment, psychiatric teaching, career choice, and psychiatry as an evidence-based discipline. While "the image of psychiatrists" formed the most consistent subscale (ω = 0.71), the internal consistencies of the other subscales were modest (ω = 0.55-0.67). The overall 18-item scale showed good internal consistency (ω = 0.78). CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence of a multi-dimensional structure in medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry, endorsing six meaningful subscales of the ATP-30. Future researchers and educators can utilize these subscales in identifying specific areas where students' attitudes are more stigmatized, to be intervened during undergraduate training.
Authors: Adam M Brenner; Richard Balon; John H Coverdale; Eugene V Beresin; Anthony P S Guerrero; Alan K Louie; Laura Weiss Roberts Journal: Acad Psychiatry Date: 2017-02-15
Authors: A Pubudu De Silva; Isurujith Kongala Liyanage; S Terrance Gr De Silva; Mahesha B Jayawardana; Chiranthi K Liyanage; Indika M Karunathilake Journal: Hum Resour Health Date: 2013-05-21
Authors: Mary Morreale; John Coverdale; Anthony P S Guerrero; Eugene V Beresin; Alan K Louie; Rashi Aggarwal; Richard Balon; Adam M Brenner Journal: Acad Psychiatry Date: 2021-12