Attitudes to alternative medicine: a study of the perceptions of those studying orthodox medicine

Abstract: Over 200 medical students completed a three part questionnaire concerning their attitudes to alternative medicine, their health locus of control beliefs, and their perceptions of the efficacy of orthodox and alternative medicine in 'curing a number of everyday ailments. The subjects were relatively positive about the more established varieties of alternative medicine and rejected many negative stereotypes of practitioners of alternative medicine. The attitudes had a relatively simple three factor structure which were related to health locus of control beliefs. Alternative medicine was seen as more efficacious at curing mental problems like insomnia, obesity and stress rather than physical problems like diabetes, food poisoning, kidney failure and liver disease. These results are discussed in terms of the growing literature on alternative medicine.

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