Social Distancing of Depressive and Panic Disorders in an International Sample of Social Work Students

Using an international sample, this study examined what variables were associated with social distancing among social work students. A total of 1,042 students from seven universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia participated in a cross-sectional paper and pencil survey that applied the Social Distancing Scale to case vignettes describing an individual with panic disorder or major depressive disorder. The results show that levels of social distancing were related to age, knowing someone with a mental illness, type of disorder, level of conservatism, race, country, professional interest in mental health, level of student, and sex. Overall, 16.8% of the variance was accounted for with these significant variables. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.