Attitudes towards psycho-social factors in medicine: an appraisal of the ATSIM scale.

As the importance of psycho-social factors in medicine is increasingly stressed, it is believed that attitudes towards psycho-social issues in medicine should be taken into account in the selection of medical students. The first step of a longitudinal study concerning the impact of medical studies on the students of a French-Canadian University gave us the opportunity to appraise the adequacy of Parlow & Rothman's (1974) ATSIM scale, a measure of attitudes towards psycho-social issues in medicine. We found the following correlations: (1) High scores on the ATSIM scale were negatively correlated with a relatively closed value system (high scores for dogmatism), (2) openness towards psycho-social factors in medicine and empathy were positively correlated, (3) There was a stronger correlation between the ATSIM scale and acceptance of absortion for social conditions than between acceptance of abortion for physical risks and this scale (this shows the social orientation of the ATSIM scale), and (4) hight scorers on the ATSIM scale seem to be more 'sensitive, forthright and expedient' than low scorers. Our results suggest that Parlow & Rothman's (1974) ATSIM scale might be a useful tool in the selection of medical students and further research is needed.