Assessing community attitudes toward mental illness

Staff of a Veterans Administration hospital combined recruitment of family-care sponsors with an assessment of community attitudes toward mental illness. They mailed questionnaires to 989 persons in a small community 35 miles from the hospital. Most of the 235 respondents believed that mental illness is caused by a lack either of physical health or of proper nurturing, rather than seeing it as punishment for sins. Respondents were generally optimistic about the chances of recovery. Respondents with no children at home were more receptive to the ideal of accepting a family-care patient, while those with children at home were highly ambivalent. From the responses, the staff were able to locate several family-care sponsors.     

Authoritarianism and attitudes toward mental health services

Right-wing authoritarians have been shown to resist change and to demonstrate hostility toward out-groups and social movements that may advocate change from traditional and conventional beliefs. Using data from the Louisville Metropolitan Survey, an omnibus survey of 771 adults interviewed by telephone, the authors investigated the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and attitudes toward mental health services. The findings of the bivariate and regression analyses indicated that high scorers on a version of B. Altemeyer's (1988) RWA index were more likely to hold negative attitudes on mental health services. In particular, the Submissive Authoritarianism scale predicted negative attitudes toward mental health services; however, scores on the Conventionality subscale were not related to attitudes toward mental health services.     

Attitudes toward mental health professionals in a hospital-based community mental health center

This study examined the attitudes of several diverse subject groups in a large medical center toward various mental health professionals. The groups consisted of: 1) general hospital staff; 2) professional mental health workers; and 3) psychiatric in-patients. Subjects evaluated a selection of 11 professional health related role titles (clinical psychologist, physician, psychiatrist, etc.) and the categories me and mental patient by marking a series of 19 seven-step rating scales, each composed of bipolar anchoring adjectives. Additionally, a familiarity rating for each of the role titles was obtained. An understanding and a value cluster were derived from the 19 adjectives along with an overall favorability-unfavorability score for each role title. It was expected that subjects would value mental health professional roles more strongly than they would indicate an understanding of these same roles. Secondly, it was expected that the hospital setting itself, the subject's role within that setting, and the degree of familiarity with the role being rated would have a significant impact on the subject's attitude. Results generally supported the above expectations. Overall ratings of the professional groups were consistently high, with less difference between the health designations (physician, nurse) and the psych designations than has been previously reported in the literature.     

The study of attitudes about mental health in the community mental health center

The assumption that a common ideology is shared by the staff of a community mental health center was tested using the Community Mental Health Ideology Scale. The scores of three groups were analyzed—service directors, line staff, and student aides. Marked discrepancies or lack of consensus in beliefs were found to exist among professional disciplines, between service units, and within each category. The implications of these findings on center functioning are discussed, and recommendations for additional studies are suggested.     

Social workers' orientations toward community mental health concepts

Relations between ideological priorities in social work and community mental health were examined by a Likert-type questionnaire containing statements representing Caplan's Conceptual Models in Community Mental Health. Seventy social workers were sampled, with equal subsamples representing the five largest fields of practice in social work. This sample appeared to be highly representative of the national social work population by fields of personal service. By analyses of variance and correlation, significant differences were found between levels of approval for respective models by the total sample, but no significant differences were found by fields of practice, or any other professional or demographic attribute. This indicates a consensual integrity in the social work profession's community mental health orientation, and strong mutuality between social work and community mental health value orientations.     

Attitudes of black adults toward community mental health centers

The attitudes of 411 black adults toward community mental health centers (CMHCs) and their relationship to seven demographic and sociocultural characteristics were assessed. Fewer than 20 percent of subjects had negative attitudes toward CMHCs, about 34 percent had positive attitudes, and about 47 percent had neutral attitudes. Female gender, married status, and a high level of racial consciousness were associated with more positive attitudes toward CMHCs but explained only about 11 percent of the variation in attitudes. The author suggests that mental health clinicians and service planners become more knowledgeable about the attitudes and values of all segments of the black community.     

An assessment of after-hours visits to a community mental health center.

Walk-in clinics, originally established in community mental health centers to provide primary and secondary prevention through around-the-clock emergency services, may be serving many people other than those in crisis. The authors conducted an 11-week study of utilization patterns at one center's after-hours walk-in clinc and found that most of the patients were already enrolled in psychotherapy sessions at the center. Some might have been acting out resistance in therapy, the authors theorize. Few patients seen for the first time at the clinic later enrolled in psychotherapy, and few inpatient admissions were made. Although the authors assert that walk-in clinics provide a valuable service, they question whether their original purpose has been distorted and whether the services they provide are always therapeutic.     

The impact of mental health literacy,stigma, and social support on attitudes toward mental health help-seeking

Guided by the theory of reasoned action, this study built a model to examine the ways in which mental health literacy (MHL), personal stigma, self-stigma, and social support collectively influence attitudes toward mental health help-seeking. A sample of 211 participants (age range 22–64; 67.62% females) from a cross-sectional survey that examined MHL of local public housing staffs in Texas were included in a structural equation modeling analysis. MHL directly influenced attitudes. Personal and self-stigma did not mediate the relationship between MHL and attitudes. Yet, self-stigma was significantly associated with attitudes. Social support positively predicted attitudes. Findings suggest the need for improving MHL and strengthening social support to promote positive attitudes toward mental health help-seeking. Mental health education to those who are at risk for mental illness and to families who are likely to influence help-seeking attitudes of those with mental illness could be useful.     

Adolescent attitudes toward serious mental illness

While there is a growing literature on mental illness stigma and strategies for reducing stigma among adults, less is known about how children and adolescents view persons with mental illness. In this paper, we describe the Attitudes Toward Serious Mental Illness Scale-Adolescent Version (ATSMI-AV) and our initial examinations of its factor structure and variations among subgroups of adolescents. Findings suggest that strategies aimed at reducing stigma in this age group would be wise to specifically target categorical thinking about mental health and mental illness and perceptions of persons with mental illness being violent and out of control.     

The nature of needs assessment in community mental health

Confusion in defining needs assessment is discussed. A tripartite model of needs assessment is proposed: an identification of a problem; a statement about priorities; and a chosen solution. The parts can be used independently or linked together to plan new or altered services. Various needs assessment techniques are examined for their usefulness in each area. Two examples of needs assessment processes are given.