Public Attitudes Towards Offenders with Mental Illness Scale (PATOMI): Establishing a Valid Tool to Measure Public Perceptions

Abstract

was principally responsible for the study conception and design.Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Samantha Walkden, with feedback on the design given by Derrol Kola-Palmer and Michelle Rogerson.

An Examination of Community Attitudes towards Individuals with Mental Illness who have Criminally Offended compared to Individuals with Mental Illness and Individuals who have Criminally Offended

“…Accordingly, using the term 'people with mental illness who have criminally offended' may have prompted more positive responses towards IMICO. Utilising a vignette has prompted negative community attitudes towards IMI and IMICO in previous research (Kasahara-Kiritani et al, 2018;Stuber et al, 2014;Walkden et al, 2020), whilst certain diagnoses (e.g., schizophrenia) and offence types (e.g. domestic violence, sexual offending) have been found to elicit more negative responses (Atkin-Plunk, 2020; Henderson, 2017;Lowe & Willis, 2020).…”

“…For example, 'mental illness' has been used interchangeably with terms such as 'mental health problem' and 'mental disorder' (Ashworth et al, 2021); whilst individuals who have engaged in or have been convicted of criminal behaviours have been described generically as 'offenders' or more specifically on the basis of offence-type, such as 'sex offenders' or 'fire setters' (Willis, 2018). This variation is also applicable to those persons who have both mental illness and criminally offended -being variously termed 'mentally disordered offenders' (Ashworth et al, 2021), 'offenders with mental health problems' (Durbeej et al, 2014), 'offenders with mental illness' (Walkden et al, 2020), 'mentally ill offenders' (Sarteschi, 2013) and so on.…”

“…In contrast to the research regarding IMI and ICO, the literature regarding community attitudes towards IMICO is particularly sparse. The little research dedicated to this population has predominantly focused on adapting existing psychometric tools to measure public attitudes towards this group (e.g., Ashworth et al, 2021;Glendinning & O'Keefe, 2015;Walkden et al, 2020). Moreover, the small body of research that has directly examined attitudes towards IMICO has tended to focus on the attitudes of professionals, rather than those of the general community.…”

“…Moreover, the existing literature is focused simply on examining attitudes towards IMICO without comparing these to other groups (e.g., IMI and ICO). As such, we do not know what is driving these negative attitudes; i.e., is it the 'mental illness' or 'criminal offending' label or a combination of both (Glendinning & O'Keefe, 2015;Walkden et al, 2020). It is also unclear whether IMICO experience increased, similar, or reduced levels of stigma compared to IMI and ICO.…”

“…as triggering more stigmatised responses regarding IMICO; for example, 'mentally disordered offender' (Ashworth et al, 2021;Walkden et al, 2020). Accordingly, using the term 'people with mental illness who have criminally offended' may have prompted more positive responses towards IMICO.…”