Occupation and social experience: Factors influencing attitude towards people with schizophrenia

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of occupation and social experience as factors determining the attitude of psychiatric care workers and other workers from various backgrounds toward people with schizophrenia. To measure the attitude of 786 subjects from six occupational groups toward people with schizophrenia, the evaluation scale applying semantic differential technique and the modified Social Rejection Scale were used, which assess two aspects of the attitude: affective acceptance and social distancing, respectively. The results of the two scales from the six groups were similar on the whole. Public health nurses showed the most accepting attitude in both scales. Psychiatric nurses and local welfare commissioners were the second and the third groups in affective acceptance, and the third and the second in socially accepting behavior, respectively. There was no significant difference in attitude among the rest of the groups (nonpsychiatric care workers, professional probation officers and non-care workers). These results can be understood in terms of the workers' experience of contact with people with schizophrenia, and education and other support opportunities. The importance of positive contact experiences and the means for facilitation of an accepting attitude in psychiatric care workers and other workers need to be stressed. Key wordsattitude toward the mentally ill, measurement of attitude, occupational factor, schizophrenia.

Review of mental‐health‐related stigma in Japan

“…found that psychiatrists and psychiatric staff showed overall less negative attitudes toward schizophrenia than the general public and physicians. Moreover, public health nurses and psychiatric nurses showed a higher acceptance of people with schizophrenia compared with other professionals, although psychiatric nurses demonstrated less socially accepting attitudes than public health nurses . A negative correlation was found between years of psychiatric nursing experience and negative attitude (hostility and criticism) towards schizophrenia .…”

Attitudes of mental health professionals about mental illness: a review of the recent literature

“…Again, several of the studies reviewed support the existence of differences between psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and other caregivers (Magliano et al, 2004b;Nordt et al, 2006;Peris et al, 2008). Some studies also found differences related to different levels of training or experience within the same fields (Ishige & Hayashi, 2005;Tay et al, 2004). Generalizations about the attitudes of mental health professionals as a group may be as elusive and inaccurate as generalizations about any varied group.…”

“…A large majority of nurses disagreed with statements such as, ''Depression occurs in people with a weak personality'' (90%); ''Those with a psychiatric history should never be given a job with responsibility'' (91%); ''Psychiatric patients are difficult to like'' (86%); and ''Violence mostly results from mental illness'' (85%). Ishige and Hayashi (2005) assessed the attitudes of psychiatric and public health nurses in Japan and compared them with the attitudes of those in other occupations-local welfare commissioners, probation officers, nonpsychiatric care workers, and noncare workers. On the basis of responses to 20 semantic differential items, the authors developed an evaluation scale to reflect the affective aspect of attitudes toward people with schizophrenia.…”

“…In both groups, the level of social distance increased as the intimacy of the social situation increased, with both psychiatrists and community residents indicating reluctance to recommend the person in the vignette for a job, rent a room to him, or have that person marry their child. Ishige and Hayashi (2005) also had their participants fill out a social distance questionnaire indicating their preferences for social interaction with people with schizophrenia. Public health nurses showed lower preference for social distance than other groups, but psychiatric nurses did not differ from the other groups, all of which tended to have scores indicating rejection of social contact with a person with schizophrenia.…”

The impact of antistigma education on the attitudes of general practitioners regarding schizophrenia*

“…Negative attitudes towards schizophrenia are not confined to the lay public but are also common among mental health professionals. [7][8][9][10][11] In a recent study from Turkey, 12 it was reported that attitudes of non-psychiatrist physicians towards mentally ill people were more negative than the attitudes of other hospital staff at a university hospital. Studies from countries with different cultural backgrounds, like Spain, 13 Oman 14 and Canada, 15 reported that medical students, nursing undergraduates and mental health profession- General medical practice and primary health care facilities are the main service setting for health care where general practitioners still have a gate-keeper role for mental health referrals.…”