Priest R G, Vize C, Roberts A, Roberts M, Tylee A
Department of Psychiatry, Imperial College School of Medicine, St Mary's, Paterson Centre, London.
BMJ. 1996 Oct 5;313(7061):858-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.313.7061.858.
To investigate the attitudes of the general public towards depression before the Defeat Depression Campaign of the Royal Colleges of Psychiatrists and General Practitioners; these results form the baseline to assess the change in attitudes brought about by the campaign.
Group discussions generated data for initial qualitative research. The quantitative survey comprised a doorstep survey of 2003 people in 143 places around the United Kingdom.
The lay public in general seemed to be sympathetic to those with depression but reluctant to consult. Most (1704 (85%)) believed counselling to be effective but were against antidepressants. Many subjects (1563 (78%)) regarded antidepressants as addictive.
Although people are sympathetic towards those with depression, they may project their prejudices about depression on to the medical profession. Doctors have an important role in educating the public about depression and the rationale for antidepressant treatment. In particular, patients should know that dependence is not a problem with antidepressants.
调查在皇家精神科医学院和全科医生学院发起“战胜抑郁症运动”之前公众对抑郁症的态度；这些结果构成了评估该运动所带来的态度变化的基线。
小组讨论产生了用于初步定性研究的数据。定量调查包括对英国143个地方的2003人进行的上门调查。
普通公众总体上似乎同情抑郁症患者，但不愿咨询。大多数人（1704人（85%））认为咨询有效，但反对使用抗抑郁药。许多受试者（1563人（78%））认为抗抑郁药会上瘾。
尽管人们同情抑郁症患者，但他们可能将对抑郁症的偏见投射到医学专业上。医生在向公众宣传抑郁症及抗抑郁治疗的基本原理方面起着重要作用。特别是，患者应该知道抗抑郁药不存在依赖性问题。
