Attitudes of psychiatry residents toward psychology.

Discusses how the development of health psychology will facilitate the trend for psychologists' continued involvement in medical settings, principally in departments of psychiatry. With the shortage of psychiatrists, it is anticipated that today's residents will assume major administrative roles in departments of psychiatry relatively early in their careers. The attitudes of 201 psychiatric residents with regard to organizational issues involving psychologists and the role of psychology in assessment, treatment, research, and training were assessed via a questionnaire. The majority of Ss felt that psychologists should not hold senior administrative roles in departments of psychiatry, and 47% felt that the medical model should be basic to both research and practice. There was substantial support for maintaining divisions of psychology within (rather than separate from) departments of psychiatry. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward abortion in Thailand: a survey of senior medical students

A majority of senior Thai medical students favored induced abortion in many circumstances not now considered legal. While 20 percent would not perform abortions for any reason, many of these would refer cases to colleagues. Independent variables consistently and significantly influencing attitudes conservatively were: female sex, certain medical schools attended, larger ideal family size, intention not to teach in a medical school as a career, having a father in unskilled or semiskilled or work, never having witnessed an illegal abortion, and never having been asked to find an abortion practitioner for a friend. A random reordering of the questions did not affect reports of attitudes toward or willingness to perform induced abortion.     

Attitude of psychiatric residents toward patient requests

The authors assessed residents' comfort in dealing with 14 previously identified types of patient requests in inpatient, outpatient, and acute service settings. First-year residents expressed significantly more discomfort than more experienced residents on 11 categories. They were also significantly less comfortable in the acute service than the inpatient setting. All residents expressed more comfort dealing with dynamic, psychological, and "nonsevere" requests. These findings suggest a need to teach residents specific therapeutic responses to various categories of requests and to evaluate the desirability of starting the residency experience on an acute service.     

Attitudes toward training in diagnostic testing: A survey of directors of internship training.

Reports responses to a questionnaire secured from 80 approved internship centers on various aspects of training in diagnostic testing. While there was some variation from center to center, a majority believed that university training was inadequate, and a number of them perceived the university as instilling an overly critical attitude toward diagnostic testing in their students. The techniques emphasized in internship training are presented, and the implications of the differences in emphases between academic and field settings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward the use of animals in psychological research and education: Results from a national survey of psychologists.

Animal research has played a central role in psychology, yet its clinical value and ethical propriety have recently come under attack. In an effort to assess current thinking on this controversial subject, a mail survey was sent to 5,000 randomly selected members of the American Psychological Association. Responses were received from 3,982 individuals, and the results showed (a) majority support for animal studies involving observation or confinement, but disapproval of studies involving pain or death; (b) majority support for mandatory pain assessments and the federal protection of rats, mice, pigeons, and reptiles; and (c) majority support for the use of animals in teaching, but opposition to an animal laboratory requirement for the psychology major. Additional findings and policy implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward the lower- and middle-class psychiatric patient as a function of authoritarianism among mental health students.

There is evidence that many clinicians' activities with lower-class patients may be influenced more by attitudes reflecting a middle-class orientation than by objective criteria. Authoritarianism seems especially germane to the problems of social class bias. For the evaluative dimension of the semantic differential, it was predicted that lower-class case histories would be judged more negatively by those Ss who were more authoritarian as measured by the California F Scale. This prediction was confirmed for a group of 24 psychiatric residents and bordered on significance for a group of 16 social work students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward death: A psychological perspective.

Discusses research on death. The influencing aspect of consciousness of death is active over the entire age continuum and is not restricted to the sick, aged, suicidal, or combat soldier. The meaning of death is multidimensional and varies not only between individuals but within the same person. Dying and death possess psychological and social features and are not merely biological events. Socially repressive orientation toward death promotes neurotic concerns about it. More intimate familiarity with death is required in developmental upbringing and culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of psychiatrists toward elderly patients

A group of 179 psychiatrists responded to a questionnaire requesting their opinions concerning four clinical vignettes. Analysis of their responses indicated that these psychiatrists, at a highly statistically significant level, regarded older patients as less ideal for their practices than younger patients with identical symptoms. The respondents viewed the older patients as having a poorer prognosis, and their treatment plans for them were less likely to emphasize psychotherapy. In general, there was a negative correlation between the age of the respondent psychiatrists and their estimate of the "idealness" of and favorable prognosis for older patients.     

Attitudes toward older and younger adults: A meta-analysis.

Attitudes toward the elderly have been examined in a number of empirical studies, yet the question of whether the elderly are viewed more negatively than younger persons has not been resolved. A meta-analysis of the literature was conducted to examine this question; results demonstrated that attitudes toward the elderly are more negative than attitudes toward younger people. However, smaller differences between the evaluations of elderly and younger targets were found when (a) the study used measures of personality traits (compared with measures of competence), (b) there were a larger number of dependent measures included in the effect size, (c) specific information was provided about the target person (compared with when a general target such as old person was used), and (d) a between-subjects design (compared with a within-subjects design) was used. These results support Lutsky's (1981) conclusion that age, in and of itself, seems to be less important in determining attitudes toward the elderly than other types of information. The methodological limitations within the literature and a need to consider multiple components of attitudes toward older individuals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward health risks and sunbathing behavior

Sunbathing confers the benefits of looking and feeling good but presents the long-term risk of skin cancer. In a disguised experiment exploring attitudes toward sunbathing by British adults, participants were asked to rate their willingness to take a hypothetical new drug (with different levels of risk) that would make them look and feel good. One aspect of the resulting risk profiles was significantly related to a positive attitude to open-air sunbathing but not to sunbed use, possibly because it was erroneously thought that using a sunbed is not risky. The well-established finding that women are more cautious was confirmed; the risk function for men was curvilinear, in contrast to women, who were willing to increase their risk linearly over their lifetime.     

Attitudes toward aging as a function of in-service training and practitioner age

Age differences in attitudes toward aging were investigated as a function of a 3-hour training program with 322 women (18-74 years) from various geriatric health care and social service contexts. Using a quasi-experimental pre- and posttest design, sites were randomly divided into initial experimental and control groups, with all control participants receiving training following the research program. Results indicated few instances of unfavorable attitudes toward aging in any age group, with younger women evidencing less cynicism toward aging, less social distance from the aged, and slightly less stereotyping. Training appeared to result in less cynicism, stronger endorsements of family and public responsibility, and slightly greater anxiety. No Age X Pretest/Posttest interactions were found. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for service provider-client interaction, the correspondence of attitudinal and behavioral change, and appropriate instruments for assessing program impact.     

Attitudes of consultant anaesthetists to the Calman proposals: a questionnaire survey

We undertook a postal survey to determine the views of all consultant anaesthetists within the North West (Mersey) Regional Health Authority on the Calman proposals for a consultant-based service; replies were received from 110 (84%). Fifty (45%) indicated that they would not resume emergency residential duties, 32 (29%) indicated that they would withdraw from the emergency duty rota, 12 (11%) said they would withdraw/retire from the NHS and 27 (25%) would change hospital under these circumstances. Most consultants had experience in the major anaesthetic sub-specialties within the preceding 5 years (obstetrics 67%, ITU 81%, major trauma 91%). Consequently the need for retraining amongst consultant anaesthetists prior to resuming residential emergency duties would be low. When questioned about the impact on anaesthetic services, 67 (61%) felt the proposals would be detrimental whilst 23 (21%) felt there would be beneficial effects. Most consultants remain antagonistic toward the Calman proposals, with a reluctance to return to residential duties.     

Preoperative anxiety and fear: a comparison of assessments by patients and anesthesia and surgery residents

We sought to compare self-assessment of preoperative anxiety levels and selection of worst fears by surgical patients with the assessments made by the anesthesia and surgery residents providing intraoperative care for those patients. One hundred inpatients at a Veterans Affairs hospital (Group 1) and 45 patients at a University hospital (Group 2) were asked to complete a brief questionnaire; the residents were asked to complete the same questionnaire. Group 1 results showed that median patient visual analog scale (VAS) scores were lower for anxiety about anesthesia compared to surgery (16 vs 22, P < or = 0.05). Anesthesia resident VAS scores were higher than patient or surgery resident scores. Neither type of resident was able to predict their individual patient's VAS score (Kendall's tau). The fear chosen with the greatest incidence by Group 1 patients and residents was whether surgery would work. A significant number of residents (34%, anesthesia or surgery, P < or = 0.05) matched their patient's fear choice. Residents commonly chose fears related to their specialty (e.g., anesthesia residents chose anesthesia-related fears more often than surgery residents, 50% vs 28%, P < or = 0.001). In Group 2, residents demonstrated an improved ability to predict patient scores. For instance, both surgery and anesthesia residents were able to predict individual University patient VAS scores (P < or = 0.01). The fear chosen with the greatest frequency by Group 2 patients was pain after the operation. Sixty percent of anesthesia residents matched their patients' fear choice (P < or = 0.001). This study indicates a variable ability of anesthesia and surgery residents to predict patient anxiety and fear which may be due, in part, to difficulty in understanding a Veterans Affairs hospital patient population.     

Attitudes toward retarded children: Effects of labeling and behavioral aggressiveness.

Examined effects of the label "mentally retarded" on attitudes of peers among 48 3rd graders. Half of the Ss were shown a videotape of an actor displaying acting-out behavior, while the remaining half were shown a videotape with the same actor engaging in passive behavior. Half of the Ss in each of these 2 groups were told that the actor was a 5th grader, and the other half were told that he was a mentally retarded boy in a special class. Analysis of variance results revealed a significant interaction between label and behavior, which indicated that Ss responded more negatively to the "mentally retarded" actor who displayed acting-out behavior than to the same actor who exhibited identical behavior but was not labeled. It is concluded that labels should be considered only as they interact with specific behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward higher education and course evaluation.

Tested the hypothesis that course evaluations are related to (a) students' and instructors' own and perceived attitudes toward higher education and college teaching and (b) congruence between students' and instructors' own and perceived attitudes. Two experiments were conducted with 24 college instructors and 889 students. The evaluation measure contained 18 5-step items drawn from previous studies; factor analysis yielded 4 factors—Intellectual Challenge, Student–Instructor Rapport, Content/Structure, and Teaching Method—accounting for 64% of the variance in the final instrument. Regression analyses show that attitudes accounted for close to 50% of evaluative variance. The most efficient subset of predictors was instructors' attitudes as perceived by students such that the attribution to instructors of attitude items preferred by students was associated with positive course evaluation. These items tended to be progressive or social in orientation. Results support the hypotheses which were derived from directive state and balance theories. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward career counseling: The role of public and self-stigma.

Although many students struggle with career-related issues in college, comparatively few engage the career services offered by their academic institutions for help with their difficulties. In addition, there is little research on the factors influencing students’ decisions to engage in counseling for career-related issues, making it difficult to develop programs to enhance students’ use of career counseling services. The present study examines the relationships between the stigma associated with help seeking and attitudes toward engaging in career counseling. Participants were 509 college students who completed measures of stigma and attitudes toward career counseling. Structural equation modeling results indicated that public and personal stigmas were linked to self-stigma, which in turn was linked to attitudes toward seeking career counseling. Sixty percent of the variance in self-stigma and 42% of the variance in attitudes was accounted for in the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward old people: The development of a scale and an examination of correlates.

"The present paper reports on the development of a Likert scale for assessing attitudes toward old people and discusses empirical relations found between such attitudes and other attitudinal and personality variables. Three samples of college undergraduates served as subjects… a scale containing items making unfavorable reference to old people and a scale containing matched favorably worded items [were constructed]… no clear consistent relation obtained between authoritarianism as measured by the F Scale and attitudes toward old people. On the other hand, unfavorable attitudes toward old people were associated with feelings of anomie, and with negative dispositions toward ethnic minorities and a variety of physically disabled groups. A nurturance factor… was significantly correlated with… scale scores, the more nuturant subjects being more positively disposed toward old people." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GD44K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward authority of delinquent and non-delinquent boys.

A picture projective test designed to measure attitudes toward authority incorporating two levels each of three variables, male and female authority figures, high and low power authority figures, and high and low threat situations, was administered to 20 delinquent and 20 non-delinquent boys of age 10-12. The hypothesis that there are differences in attitudes of delinquents and non-delinquents toward authority was not supported. Results indicated significantly greater expressed hostility of both groups toward female authority figures than to male authority figures. Responses to different levels of threat and power varied significantly from individual to individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)