From: Attitudes toward depression among Japanese non-psychiatric medical doctors: a cross-sectional study
Agreement (%) | Mean score (SD) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Agree | Neutral | Disagree | ||
Factor I: Depression should be treated by psychiatrists | 54.0 | 43.3 | 2.7 | 68.1 (17.2) |
13 Working with depressed patients is heavy going. | 59.9 | 33.7 | 6.4 | 67.1 (20.8) |
17 If depressed patients need antidepressants, they are better off with a psychiatrist than with a general practitioner. | 57.2 | 34.2 | 8.6 | 68.1 (22.3) |
19 Psychotherapy for depressed patients should be left to a specialist. | 62.0 | 27.8 | 10.2 | 69.1 (24.1) |
Factor II: Pessimism regarding depression treatments | 2.1 | 54.5 | 43.3 | 35.5 (13.4) |
1 During the last 5 years, I have seen an increase in the number of patients presenting with depressive symptoms. | 56.7 | 39.6 | 3.7 | 68.9 (20.1) |
14 There is little to be offered to those depressed patients who do not respond to what GPs do. | 4.8 | 35.8 | 59.4 | 30.4 (20.1) |
15 It is rewarding to spend time looking after depressed patients. | 44.4 | 47.1 | 8.6 | 62.4 (19.3) |
16 Psychotherapy tends to be unsuccessful with depressed patients. | 11.2 | 55.6 | 33.2 | 42.8 (19.9) |
Factor III: Prejudice regarding depression etiology and pathology | 5.9 | 77.0 | 17.1 | 46.9 (14.6) |
6 It is possible to distinguish two main groups of depression: one psychological in origin and the other caused by biochemical mechanisms. | 29.4 | 57.2 | 13.4 | 55.7 (21.4) |
7 Becoming depressed is a way that people with poor stamina deal with life difficulties. | 12.3 | 34.2 | 53.5 | 35.1 (24.3) |
8 Depressed patients are more likely to have experienced deprivation in early life than other people. | 17.6 | 55.1 | 27.3 | 45.5 (20.8) |
10 Depression reflects a characteristic response in patients which is not amenable to change. | 27.3 | 48.1 | 24.6 | 51.3 (23.6) |
Items not included in any factor | ||||
2 The majority of depression seen in general practice originates from patients' recent misfortunes. | 27.8 | 56.1 | 16.0 | 54.6 (20.1) |
3 Most depressive disorders seen in general practice improve without medication. | 6.4 | 39.6 | 54.0 | 35.1 (19.9) |
4 An underlying biochemical abnormality is at the basis of severe cases of depression. | 38.5 | 42.2 | 19.3 | 56.2 (24.1) |
5 It is difficult to differentiate whether patients are presenting with unhappiness or a clinical depressive disorder that needs treatment. | 43.9 | 40.1 | 16.0 | 59.0 (22.8) |
9 I feel comfortable in dealing with depressed patients' needs. | 0 | 16.0 | 84.0 | 19.4 (14.0) |
11 Becoming depressed is a natural part of being old. | 10.2 | 40.1 | 49.7 | 36.0 (23.3) |
12 The practice nurse could be a useful person to support depressed patients. | 67.4 | 28.3 | 4.3 | 72.7 (19.2) |
18 Antidepressants usually produce a satisfactory result in the treatment of depressed patients in general practice. | 41.7 | 45.5 | 12.8 | 59.1 (20.5) |
20 If psychotherapy were freely available, this would be more beneficial than antidepressants for most depressed patients. | 27.3 | 56.7 | 16.0 | 53.3 (21.6) |