Community Mental Health Ideology Research Articles

Mental health ideologies of psychiatric nurses.

Students in graduate programs of psychiatric nursing across the United States were surveyed in terms of their individual commitment to three major mental health ideologies--community mental health ideology, psychotherapetic ideology, and somatotherapeutic ideology. In contrast to earlier research, which had indicated that psychiatric nurses are ideologically neutral, it was found in the present study that as a group these 386 young psychiatric nurses were more committed to community mental health ideology than to the other two psychiatric orientations measured.

Community mental health ideology and nontraditional attitudes toward mental illness.

Community mental health ideology and nontraditional attitudes toward mental illness.

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.

Community mental health ideology scale standing of paraprofessionals.

Twenty-five paraprofessionals from five different community mental health centers in the inner city areas of Chicago individually completed the Community Mental Health Ideology (CMHI) Scale and a personal data sheet. The findings support the hypothesis that the paraprofessionals in these centers score lower than the group of community psychologists reported in the normative study on the CMHI Scale. No significant relationship was found between the practical experience of the paraprofessionals and their scores on the scale. The study provided data on the age, race, sex, educational level, and the salary scale of the group under investigation.

Community Mental Health Ideology Scale and Community Adaptation Schedule.

Community Mental Health Ideology Scale and Community Adaptation Schedule.

Community mental health centers and community mental health ideology.

A study of the adherence of two community mental health center staffs to community mental health ideology, as measured by the Baker-Schulberg CMHI Scale, was conducted. The results for equivalent populations were the same as those of the only previously reported study, indicating the CMHI Scale is a reliable, useful research tool. Significant relationships were found between scores and a) professional affiliation, b) years of liberal arts education, and c) length of time working in a mental health center. Medical education would appear to have a different effect on adherence to the ideology of the community mental health movement than that of liberal arts education.

Community Mental Health Ideology, Dogmatism, and Political-Economic Conservatism

The Community Mental Health Ideology (CMHI) Scale, an abridged version of Rokeach's Dogmatism (D) Scale, and the five-item form of the Political-Economic Conservatism (PEC) Scale were administered to 140 members of the Massachusetts Citizen Mental Health Area Boards. The results indicate that degree of adherence to community mental health ideology as measured by the CMHI Scale is significantly negatively correlated with dogmatism and political-economic conservatism. The sample of nonprofessional citizens scored higher on the CMHI Scale than did groups of mental health professionals who had been previously studied. They also obtained scores on the D Scale and PEC Scale indicating that these lay members of mental health area boards are less dogmatic and less conservative than the groups with which these scales were originally developed.

The development of a community mental health ideology scale

As psychiatric facilities move toward a community mental health orientation, it appears vital to understand and measure this new ideological perspective. A valid and reliable 38-item Scale has been developed for this purpose. The Community Mental Health Ideology Scale very effectively discriminates between groups known to be highly oriented to this ideology and random samples of mental health professionals. Other evidence of the Scale's construct validity is presented, and certain correlates of community mental health ideology are described. Further data on the validity of the Scale is required, and additional areas for future research are indicated.