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

Abstract

This study examined the attitudes of several diverse subject groups in a large medical center toward various mental health professionals. The groups consisted of: general hospital staff; professional mental health workers; and 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.