Older peoples' attitudes to mental illness

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of mental health problems in later life, older people markedly underutilize mental health services. A greater awareness of factors influencing older peoples' attitudes to mental illness may therefore improve awareness and treatment of mental disorders in this population. A mixed methodology approach was used to explore and compare older peoples' attitudes to mental illness in a sample of clinical and non-clinical participants. Results indicated that, similar to younger people, older people endorsed a range of positive and negative attitudes to mental illness. However, when attitudes to mental illness were considered within the context of ageing and experience a more complex pattern of results emerged. Although negative attitudes to mental illness were associated with negative attitudes to ageing across the entire sample, clinical participants (and those with prior experience of mental illness) reported more positive attitudes to mental illness and more negative attitudes to ageing than non-clinical participants, for whom the reverse was true. Attitudes were also differentially related to health behaviour outcomes. Results suggest that attitudes to mental illness and ageing may be linked and mediated by personal experience and capacity for psychological self-regulation in the face of age-associated adversity.

Mental Health Services Structure: The Case of Older Puerto Ricans in Senior Centers

“…It seems quite logical that already having symptoms of mental illness can become motivation to learn more about how to get treatment. Further, perceived need for mental health services has been found to be the highest predictor of mental health care use among older adults (Coulton & Frost, 1982;Leaf, Bruce, Tischler, Freeman, & Myers, 1988;Quinn et al, 2009). With an integrated mental health services structure, it is possible that it may become easier to obtain information and proceed to utilizing services without much external intervention.…”

“…That is, due to historical changes and developments in delivery of mental health services, mental health services have progressively become more visible over the years so those who were born a decade later may have had a different experience and exposure to the topic of mental health and mental health services. The significance of the age variable is an important finding that may be related to ageist perceptions about mental health issues as part of normal aging; therefore, those in more advance age categories, such as the oldold and the oldest-old, may be at a higher risk for underutilizing mental health services (Currin et al, 1998;Quinn et al, 2009;Woodward & Pachana, 2009).…”

“…However, most of the known literature on older adults and mental health services has not been specifically with Latinos or Puerto Ricans. In general, older adults are likely to have less familiarity with mental health and mental health services (Alegria et al, 2007;Quinn, Laidlaw, & Murray, 2009). Additionally, lack of familiarity with mental health services has been found to lead to lower service use among older adults (Quinn et al, 2009).…”

“…In general, older adults are likely to have less familiarity with mental health and mental health services (Alegria et al, 2007;Quinn, Laidlaw, & Murray, 2009). Additionally, lack of familiarity with mental health services has been found to lead to lower service use among older adults (Quinn et al, 2009). Although other factors may be related to the perceptions of mental health services among older adults, not having awareness about mental health services or how to access them may be an important factor in shaping the attitudes of older adults toward utilizing services for mental health issues.…”

The effectiveness of behavioural therapy for the treatment of depression in older adults: a meta‐analysis

“…Fears about the side effects of antidepressant medication in older adults often result in the prescription of medication at sub-therapeutic levels (Laidlaw et al, 2008). Furthermore, prescribing medication does not address the changes in behaviour that are needed to overcome depression which is important given the complex beliefs and attitudes that have been found in older adults towards mental illness (Quinn et al, 2009). As behavioural therapy is a relatively simple and brief intervention which requires less intensive professional training and support compared to other psychological interventions it could be more cost-effective (Centre for Economic Performance's Mental Health Policy Group, 2006;Ekers et al, 2007).…”