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Cited by 253Mental Health Treatment and AccessPsychology and Mental HealthPsychiatric care and mental health services

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 177 of the 181 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Public attitudes towards psychiatry and psychiatric treatment at the beginning of the 21st century: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of population surveys

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Angermeyer, Matthias C., van der Auwera, Sandra, Carta, Mauro G., Schomerus, Georg·2017·World Psychiatry
DOI 10.1002/wps.20383PMC PMC5269489
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Abstract

Public attitudes towards psychiatry are crucial determinants of help‐seeking for mental illness. It has been argued that psychiatry as a discipline enjoys low esteem among the public, and a “crisis” of psychiatry has been noted. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of population studies examining public attitudes towards various aspects of psychiatric care. Our search in PubMed, Web of Science, PsychINFO and bibliographies yielded 162 papers based on population surveys conducted since 2000 and published no later than 2015. We found that professional help for mental disorders generally enjoys high esteem. While general practitioners are the preferred source of help for depression, mental health professionals are the most trusted helpers for schizophrenia. If respondents have to rank sources of help, they tend to favor mental health professionals, while open questions yield results more favorable to general practitioners. Psychiatrists and psychologists/psychotherapists are equally recommended for the treatment of schizophrenia, while for depression psychologists/psychotherapists are more recommended, at least in Europe and America. Psychotherapy is consistently preferred over medication. Attitudes towards seeking help from psychiatrists or psychologists/psychotherapists as well as towards medication and psychotherapy have markedly improved over the last twenty‐five years. Biological concepts of mental illness are associated with stronger approval of psychiatric help, particularly medication. Self‐stigma and negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness decrease the likelihood of personally considering psychiatric help. In conclusion, the public readily recommends psychiatric help for the treatment of mental disorders. Psychotherapy is the most popular method of psychiatric treatment. A useful strategy to further improve the public image of psychiatry could be to stress that listening and understanding are at the core of psychiatric care.

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Metadata

Authors
Angermeyer, M. C., van der Auwera, S., Carta, M. G., & Schomerus, G.
Affiliations
  • University of Cagliari (IT)
  • Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
  • Universität Greifswald (DE)
ORCID
Venue
World Psychiatry
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-01-26
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
50-61
ISSN
  • 1723-8617 (ISSN-L)
  • 2051-5545
DOI
10.1002/wps.20383
PMC
PMC5269489
OpenAlex
W2582506766
Cited by
253
References
181
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 12
FWCI
3.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • World Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UNICA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Cagliari) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
Keywords
help-seeking, mental illness, general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapy, psychiatric medication, self-stigma, crisis in psychiatry, public image of psychiatry

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