An Investigation of the Relations Between Student Knowledge, Personal Contact, and Attitudes Toward Individuals With Schizophrenia

Abstract

A survey of 118 MSW students was conducted to examine the relationship between social work students' knowledge about, contact with, and attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that students' knowledge about and contact with persons with schizophrenia were significantly related to better attitudes toward this population. Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between knowledge about and contact with persons with schizophrenia, such that knowledge was only related to positive attitudes among students who had more personal contact with persons with the illness. Implications for social work training in severe mental illness are discussed (99 words).Social workers are the primary providers of psychosocial treatment to individuals with schizophrenia (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2001), a complex and disabling mental disorder that poses unique treatment challenges to mental health professionals. Recent evidence has suggested that while social workers have remained committed to serving this population, they often feel inadequately prepared for this challenging work (Author, 2004), and that the challenges they face in the course of working with persons with schizophrenia may negatively influence their attitudes toward this population (Author, in press). Such attitudes are of particular importance, as they have been consistently linked with negative outcomes among persons with schizophrenia (e.g., Moore & Kuipers, 1992;Snyder et al., 1996). Unfortunately, the mechanisms by which negative attitudes develop among social workers are not well known.Social psychological theories of attitude and stereotype development suggest that inadequate knowledge about a group of people may lead to negative attitudes toward that group (Allport, 1954;Weber & Crocker, 1983). Given that many social workers feel inadequately prepared for working with persons with schizophrenia (Author, 2004), a lack of requisite knowledge about this population may be a primary mechanism by which negative attitudes develop. However, to date, no study has examined how social workers' knowledge about schizophrenia is related to their attitudes toward this population. One of the primary functions of social work education is to ensure that successive generations of social workers continue to "practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge, and skills related to clients' age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation" (Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], 2004, p. 7, italics added). An investigation of the relationship between knowledge and attitudes about schizophrenia is of particular importance to social work educators, as it can provide key insights about how negative attitudes develop among social Knowledge, Stigma, and Attitude DevelopmentAlthough clinical social workers are trained in diagnosing and treating severe me...

Atitudes dos trabalhadores de saúde mental em relação aos pacientes psiquiátricos em uma cidade do interior do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

“…Pelo contrário, Gaebel et al 23 , na Alemanha, demonstraram que as atitudes negativas e a distância social aumentaram com um maior contato com os pacientes Avanci et al 18 encontraram que o contato influenciava nas atitudes positivas quando era acompanhado de conhecimento técnico. Esse achado coincide com as conclusões do estudo de Eack e Newhill 24 , que identificaram uma relação entre o contato e a experiência e conhecimento técnico com uma atitude mais positiva para com os indivíduos com transtornos mentais.…”

Bachelor of Social Work Students and Mental Health Stigma: Understanding Student Attitudes

“…Research has demonstrated that the attitudes and beliefs of mental health professionals toward clients can have a direct effect on the quality of the worker-client relationship and service out comes (Eack & Newhill, 2008;O'Connell & Stein, 2011;Scheyett & Kim, 2004;Schulze, 2007). Negative attitudes toward and low expectations of seriously mentally ill clients limit the abilities of professionals to develop effective working partnerships with those clients (Bentley, Farmer, & Phillips, 1991).…”

“…Some studies address levels of severity or specific disorders (Covarrubias & Han, 2011;Eack & Newhill, 2008;Newhill & Korr, 2004;Rao et al, 2009), whereas others discuss mental illness in more general terms (Church, Baldwin, Brannen, & Clements, 2009;Gordon, Tantillo, Feldman, & Perrone, 2004;Lauber, Nordt, Braunschweig, & Rossler, 2006;Scheyett & Kim, 2004;Spagnolo, Murphy, & Librera, 2008). For purposes of this study, mental illness is used as a general term that is meant to encompass a broad range of mental and emotional conditions.…”

“…Social workers are frequently identified as the largest group of direct mental health service providers (Eack & Newhill, 2008;Werbach & Depoy, 1993), such that social workers are esti mated to account for between 60%-70% of mental health professionals in the United States (Proctor, 2004). Research suggests that this is particularly true for those areas in which there are limited resources (Newhill & Korr, 2004).…”

The effects of stereotype disconfirming information and self-disclosure on stereotype endorsement, prejudice, and social tolerance of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder.

“…Indeed, people who have had prior contact with individuals with SMIs (typically people in the medical field, social work, or with familial connections) tend to display positive attitudes toward these individuals, (Alexander & Link, 2003;Eack & Newhill, 2008).…”