Do Psychology Students Believe Mental Health Myths more than Medical Students? A Response from the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background Previous work has been done on assessing how much psychology students believe myths, as compared to the general population. This study focuses on the mental health myths discussed in the book 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. Objective This study seeks to investigate if Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae (MBBS, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) students are more likely than psychology students to accept mental health myths. Methods One hundred and two MBBS students and 209 psychology students at a university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were compared in their level of adherence to mental health myths. The measure was based on Lilienfeld et al.'s list of myths focused on mental health, and the comparison was done with a Mann-Whitney test. Results Psychology students came out with greater levels of acceptance of mental health myths. In both groups, the most believed myth pertained to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Conclusion In the UAE, students from both MBBS and psychology programs are prone to accepting mental health myths. The lower adherence to mental health myths amongst MBBS students may be due to stricter admissions policies. Teaching implications In the UAE, both MBBS and psychology programs must target efforts in expanding the critical thinking abilities of students, to dispel mental health myths.