Self-Diagnosis in Psychology Students

This study aimed to describe how, why and to what extent psychology students self-diagnose and what impact this has on their lives, using an in-depth qualitative exploration. A sample of 8 students were taken and interviews were administered on them. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on the results, revealing four global themes. These were: Causes of Self-Diagnosis, Methods of Self-Diagnosis, Effects of Self-Diagnosis and Academic Maturity. It was concluded that students self-diagnose based on earlier experiences as well as psychological information they learn in an academic setting and introspection methods. Factors such as schematic thinking played a role in self-diagnosis and it had positive and negative effects, which can be classified as cognitive, affective and behavioural effects. Academic Maturity was seen to be a protective factor against the negative effects of self-diagnosis.