Multiple models and mental illnesses: A rejoinder to "Failure of a moral enterprise: Attitudes of the public toward mental illness" by T. R. Sarbin and J. C. Mancuso.

Critically analyzes the T. R. Sarbin and J. D. Mancuso (see record 1971-04081-001) report. Data are presented indicating that the public is (a) generally accepting of the medical model of mental illness; (b) optimistic about prognosis; and (c) able to identify the simple schizophrenic, the alcoholic, and the juvenile character disorder as mentally ill and in need of medical care. The public does not place a sizable social distance between themselves and those labeled mentally ill. These data contradict the claims advanced for a unitary social deviancy model. It is argued that the medical model is neither rejected by the public nor discredited by current research. The need is not for the abandonment of medical and psychological models which have already demonstrated formidable heuristic value; what is needed is recognition that there are many different kinds of mental illnesses and that multiple models may consequently have value. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)