Effect of Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation on Nursing Students’ Beliefs, Social Distance, and Stigmatization Toward Mental Illness: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of mindfulness-based psychoeducation on nursing students’ beliefs about mental illnesses, social distance, and stigma.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with second-year nursing students at Aydın Adnan Menderes University. Initially, 280 students were screened using the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (BMIS). Based on inclusion criteria, 84 students with high BMIS scores were enrolled. After attrition, 49 participants (25 in the intervention group and 24 in the control group) completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Data were collected using the BMIS, the Social Distance Scale, and the Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale for Healthcare Providers.

Results: At baseline, no statistically significant differences were found between the intervention and control groups in the BMIS subscales-Dangerousness, Poor Interpersonal and Social Skills, and Incurability. Following psychoeducation, belief scores also showed no significant changes. In contrast, a significant reduction in social distance was observed in the intervention group, with the most pronounced improvement at the one month follow-up and sustained at three months. Stigmatization scores also declined significantly in the intervention group, with effects becoming more evident at the three month assessment. No significant changes were detected in the control group during any measurement period.

Conclusion: Mindfulness-based psychoeducation appears to produce gradual and sustained reductions in social distance and stigma perceptions, although it does not lead to significant short-term changes in beliefs about mental illness.