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Community Knowledge of Mental Illness and Reaction to Mentally Ill People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Geoffrey Wolff ,
Soumitra Pathare ,
Jom Craig  and
Julian Leff
Geoffrey Wolff*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
Soumitra Pathare
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, St Thomas's Hospital, UMDS
Jom Craig
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, St Thomas's Hospital, UMDS
Julian Leff
Affiliation:
MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre (Social Psychiatry Section), Institute of Psychiatry
*
Dr Geoffrey Wolff, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre (Social Psychiatry Section), Institute of Psychiatry, DeCrespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Background

We test the hypothesis that negative attitudes to mentally ill people may be fuelled by a lack of knowledge.

Method

A census of knowledge of mental illness was conducted in two areas prior to the opening of long-stay supported houses for the mentally ill in each area. Three attitudinal factors (Fear and Exclusion, Social Control and Goodwill) which had been extracted by factor analysis of the Community Attitudes toward the Mentally III (CAMI) inventory (see previous paper) were analysed in respect of their associations with knowledge of mental illness.

Results

Most respondents (80%) knew of somebody who had a mental illness but a substantial proportion of respondents had little knowledge about mental illness. Social Control showed an association with knowledge of mental illness. Groups who showed more socially controlling attitudes (especially those over 50 years old, those of lower social class, and those of non-Caucasian ethnic origin) had less knowledge about mental illness. Regression analysis revealed that when knowledge was taken into account age had no effect on Social Control, and the effect of social class and ethnic origin was diminished Respondents with children, who showed more Fear and Exclusion, were not less knowledgeable about mental illness.

Conclusions

The results support the hypothesis that negative attitudes, especially in older people, are fuelled by a lack of knowledge. Negative attitudes among people with children are not related to a lack of knowledge.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 168 , Issue 2 , February 1996 , pp. 191 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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