Correlates of Socially Restrictive and Authoritarian Attitudes Toward Mental Patients in University Students

Abstract

Ninety-two university students (55 women; 37 men) participated in a study of the relationship between authoritarian and socially restrictive attitudes toward mental patients and the variables of trait -anxiety, self-esteem, locus of control, age, and gender. Results of multivariate analyses showed that individuals who score high in authoritarianism tend to be young, male, and believers in chance and fate (external locus of control). A similar pattern was found for social restrictiveness.

Attitudes towards anorexia nervosa: The impact of framing on blame and stigma

“…Moreover, given the need to remove men from the analysis population due to their small numbers, the sample is not truly representative of an overall nursing student population. Because female students may be less likely to view mental illness negatively than their male peers, 24 if males had been included in our analysis, more agreement with stigmatizing statements about AN could have emerged. Finally, as with all self-report questionnaires, participants may have responded in a way that they believed to be socially desirable.…”

Determination of beliefs, attitudes of consulting teachers towards mental diseases, and referral reasons of their students to a child and adolescent psychiatrist

“…Attitudes function as a protective mechanism; namely individuals try to develop attitudes which will ease themselves and protect their own egos (7). In the present study, while counselling teachers considered mental illnesses and patients with them as subjects of shame and, dangerous, and poorly successful in interpersonal relationships, their education, occupation of being a mental health counselor, their social class might cause masking of their personal unfavorable beliefs, as it was the expected favorable attitude them from (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36).…”

“…In general, it was observed that people from high social classes, young, and well-educated were more tolerant about individuals with mental illnesses (27,28). In another study, although attitudes of these people to mental illnesses were more favorable, it was proposed that this might be because people desired to be admired more (25).…”

“…Beliefs and attitudes about mental illnesses and patients with them are related to factors such as age, gender, marital status, education level, socioeconomic level, and contradictory results have been reported in the literature in which way these sociodemographic characteristics affect attitudes and beliefs about mental illnesses (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34).…”

“…Besides, it was reported in studies that having low educational levels and being older were related to be more tolerant (29)(30)(31), and sociodemographic characteristics had no effect on attitudes and beliefs (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34). Similarly, the present study showed that sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, graduated program, duration of working period, and affiliation worked at had no effects on attitudes and BMIS scores.…”