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Changes in attitudes towards mental illness following exposure
1Department of Criminology, Behavioral Studies, at Emek Yezreel College, Emek Yezreel, 19300, Israel. helenwa@yahoo.com
Community Mental Health Journal
|July 21, 2004
Summary
Student attitudes toward mental health patients improved with volunteering, but brief visits worsened them. Prolonged, equal-basis exposure may be superior for changing perceptions of mental illness.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Mental Health Studies
Background:
- Student attitudes towards mental patients significantly impact treatment and policy.
- Modifying these attitudes is crucial for future mental health professionals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of different types of exposure to mental institutions on student attitudes.
- To compare the effectiveness of visiting, volunteering, and studying in a mental health setting.
Main Methods:
- Participants included psychopathology students with varied exposure (visiting, volunteering, neither) and introductory psychology students.
- The Opinions About Mental Illness scale was used to measure attitudes (benevolence, etiology) before and after the academic year.
Main Results:
- Overall improvement in benevolence and etiology beliefs was observed.
- Volunteering led to greater positive attitude changes than visiting or studying.
- A brief visit to a mental institution unexpectedly increased social restrictiveness.
Conclusions:
- Prolonged, intimate, and equal-status exposure (volunteering) is more effective in improving attitudes than brief or passive exposure.
- Short-term, superficial contact (visiting) can be detrimental, increasing negative social biases.