Failure of a moral enterprise: Attitude of the public toward mental illness.

Presents a critical analysis of published reports on the public's attitudes toward mental illness and toward deviant conduct. The mental health movement fits the defining criteria for a moral crusade, motivated and supported by moral entrepreneurs. The reported data indicate that the mental illness paradigm, as a formula for understanding and controlling deviant conduct, has not been widely accepted by the public. The central objective of the mental health movement has been to influence the general public to regard mental illness with the same nonrejecting valuations as somatic illness. Social survey reports and other data point to the conclusion that the public tends to declare negative (rejecting) valuations on persons diagnosed as mentally ill. However, the public tends to be more tolerant of deviant conduct when it is not described with mental illness labels. (37 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 professional counseling among Asian-American college students: Acculturation, conceptions of mental illness, and loss of face.

The present study attempted to examine the influence of culture-bound barriers such as acculturation status, loss of face, and conception of mental health on the attitudes of Asian American college students (n = 134) toward seeking professional psychological help. An adapted Acculturation Attitude Scale (AAS; U. Kim, 1988), Zane's (1991) Loss of Face Scale (LOFS), a 10-factor Conception of Mental Health Scale (CMHS; Nunnally, 1961), and a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS) with four subscales (Fischer & Turner, 1970) were used in this study. Results support the hypothesis that acculturation and conceptions of mental health were significantly correlated with attitudes toward mental health services. Loss of face was also significantly correlated with attitudes of being open to professional counseling. Implications for mental health professionals working with Asian Americans are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Metaphor to myth transformation" and the assertion of negative existentials: A reply to Sarbin.

Comments that T. R. Sarbin's (see record 1969-02573-001) argument is based on confused logic, an inappropriate application of a largely defunct philosophical position, and partly phenomenological-anthropological speculation implicitly presented as empirical evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mental illness culture is alive and well: A reply to Page.

Counters S. Page's (see record 1987-05244-001) criticisms of the 1st and 3rd authors' (1983; see also PA, Vol 67:1855) study of the relationship between physical proximity of psychiatric facilities and patient admission rates, suggesting that statistics showing a steady increase in psychiatric admissions in the US and Canada indicate that a culture that tends to perceive problems as mental illness is real and growing. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping skills training: Attitude toward mental illness, depression, and quality of life 1 year later.

Presents a follow-up assessment of 18 outpatient clients who had participated in the author's (see record 1980-26239-001) coping skills curriculum of progressive relaxation, anxiety management, assertiveness, and self-reinforcement. Focusing on 3 outcomes that were not targets of training but were hypothesized as potential generalized effects of the intervention, the study revealed that coping-skills Ss held attitudes about the etiology of psychological problems (Opinions about Mental Illness Scale) consistent with those modeled during the program and reported less depression (Beck Depression Inventory) than 17 Ss in a supportive group counseling program. No differences in quality of life emerged between the 2 groups. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A case of ESP: critique of "Personal values and ESP scores" by Gertrude R. Schmeidler.

The statistics employed in the subject study (see 27: 4909) are questioned and the author concludes that the findings presented are "due not so much to telepathy as to numerology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward rape: A comparative analysis of police, rapists, crisis counselors, and citizens.

This study was designed to (a) examine the dimensionality of rape attitudes; (b) explore the relationships between perceptions of rape and background characteristics of rapists, police, female rape crisis counselors, and citizens; and (c) determine how these groups might differ with regard to rape attitudes. Data were collected from 1,448 Ss from the aforementioned groups using measures of Ss' attitudes toward and knowledge of rape, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and a personal data form. Results show that the groups were similar in their structures of rape attitudes. As predicted, sex, race, and marital status were the most important characteristics for predicting rape attitudes; within the respondent groups, however, other characteristics were found to be important. Significant differences were also found among the groups in their perceptions of rape. The counselors differed from the police, citizens, and rapists in their views of rape, while citizens and police were most similar. No differences were found between the police and rapists on half of the attitudinal dimensions. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of attitudes toward rape. (82 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coercion and empowerment in the treatment of individuals with serious mental illness: A preliminary investigation.

Recently, treatment approaches for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have sought to increase autonomy to prevent frequent hospitalizations. Two of these strategies are coercive treatment and empowerment. Both coercive treatment and empowerment attempt to increase an individual's freedom from illness as well as rehospitalization. In the literature coercion is viewed as a barrier to empowerment, yet the long-term goals of both approaches are similar. Thus, coercive treatment may not serve as a barrier to empowerment. This study is a preliminary investigation of the empirical relationship between and among coercion, functioning, and empowerment. Participants were recruited from treatment centers in Mississippi and were at varying stages of treatment including inpatient and outpatient (N = 64). Variables of interest were measured with the MacArthur Admissions Experience Survey, Brief Symptom Inventory, Multnomah Community Ability Scale, MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Treatment, and Empowerment Scale. In this sample, only functioning was predictive of empowerment, suggesting that empowerment is dependent on an individual's level of functioning. In addition, coercion may not necessarily disempower individuals with SMI. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality of life: A review of theory and practice implications for individuals with long-term mental illness.

Reviews quality of life (QOL) models and findings applied to individuals with long-term mental illness as an illustration of approaches to QOL methodologies and models. Gap-discrepancy theories are discussed, and life satisfaction and adaptive functioning models of QOL and measurement instruments related to these models are described. QOL represents a viable means of investigating the subjective well-being of individuals with chronic mental illness. Despite psychiatric symptomatology, measuring QOL or subjective well-being represents a viable means of measuring client change or program outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The cenral role of restricted normal activities in adjustment to illness and disability: A model of depressed affect": Correction.

Reports a correction in the original article by Gail M. Williamson (Rehabilitation Psychology, 1998, Vol 43(4), 327–347). The article should have been identified as a Commentary. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1999-00481-005). Research has consistently indicated that health-related stressors affect depressive symptoms largely to the extent that they restrict routine activities. Beyond the impact of illness severity, psychosocial variables (age, income adequacy, social support, and personality) also contribute to restricted activities. Moreover, after controlling for illness severity and psychosocial factors, activity restriction explains significant portions of the variance in symptoms of depression. Thus, depressed affect is at least partially a function of restricted activities. Further specifying the processes through which activities come to be restricted should not only provide clues about points of intervention but also aid in early identification of individuals at risk for poor adaptation. In addition to treating illness symptoms and depression, interventions can be designed to increase participation in routine activities, even in the presence of illness symptoms, depression, or both. Implications of activity restriction… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A very narrow bridge": Diagnosis and management of mental illness among Bratslav hasidim.

Describes psychotherapeutic techniques employed by therapists working with 19 male members of a small Hasidic sect (aged 17–40 yrs). Ss were diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or personality disorder during 1 yr. Schizophrenia was diagnosed in 79% of these Ss, compared with a 15% rate for all new referrals. Most Ss were not born into the sect, but joined as young adults. In order to distinguish between culturally normal and abnormal symptomatology, therapists became acquainted with the behavior and values of the sect. Two case examples (aged 30 and 31 yrs) are included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A vengefulness of the impotent": The pain of in-group inferiority and schadenfreude toward successful out-groups.

Nietzsche (1887/1967) suggested that the emotional pain individuals feel about their in-group's inferiority leads them to feel the pleasure of schadenfreude when a successful out-group fails. To test this idea, 2 studies examined a fictitious competition between real universities. Individuals' pain about their in-group's inferiority explained schadenfreude at the failure of a successful out-group better than dislike of the out-group, interest in the domain of competition, illegitimacy of the out-group's success, and illegitimacy of the in-group's inferiority. In addition, emotions regarding the out-group's success (i.e., envy, dislike-based anger, and illegitimacy-based anger) were weaker explanations of schadenfreude than the pain of in-group inferiority and anger based in this pain (which Nietzsche referred to as ressentiment). Thus, schadenfreude has more to do with the inferiority of the self than with the success of others. As well as providing evidence for a specific form of prejudice grounded in group-based emotions, this research also revives displacement explanations of prejudice toward 3rd parties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hysterics and dysthymics as criterion groups in the measure of introversion-extraversion: A rejoinder to Eysenck's reply.

"Eysenck has accepted our results despite their alleged premature publication [see 33: 10806], but has disputed our interpretation of them. The most prematurely published result, using his criterion of sample size, showed psychopaths to be extraverted, as predicted by his theory. Presumably, he did not intend this to be a contentious point. A consideration of the other arguments advanced by Eysenck, some of which were supported by irrelevant data, enables us to reaffirm our original statement, namely, either hysterics and dysthymics cannot be used as criterion groups in the measure of introversion-extraversion, or the E scale is not a good measure of introversion-extraversion, or both statements are true." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)