Knowledge, stigma, and beliefs toward mental illnesses among schoolteachers in Damascus

BACKGROUND: Teachers have an important role in promoting the mental wellbeing of their students, hence their knowledge and attitudes toward mental health disorders should be assessed. A very few studies regarding this topic were conducted in Syria, but due to the recent events which have had occurred the country, it is essential to deal with students who suffer from mental illnesses professionally especially that such disorders may be stigmatized by the society. AIMS: This paper aims to investigate knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward mental disorders in a sample of Syrian schoolteachers. METHOD: A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in Damascus and Refdimashq, involving 400 teachers from 16 schools. RESULTS: The results showed that the prevalence of stigmatizing positions toward psychiatric illnesses was low among teachers. The contributors did not state a correlation between spiritual beliefs and psychological disorders. It was also found that teachers were neutral in their knowledge about mental illnesses and psychiatric treatment or interventions along with their mental health resources. However, 42.5% of the participants use the internet for such purposes. CONCLUSION: In general, teachers of Damascus and its Refdimashq had a reasonable degree of awareness about mental disorders and treatments. Furthermore, neither stigma nor the relation between religious thoughts and mental disorders had been ascertained.