Opinions about Mental Illness: A Comparison of American and Greek Social Work Students in 1969 and 1979

Abstract

The influence of cultural change on attitudes towards mental patients was examined by comparing two American (ns = 76, 104) and two Greek (ns = 103, 116) samples, one drawn from each country in 1969 and the second in 1979. In Greece a decrease in negative attitudes is observed while in the USA a reduction in positive attitudes is noted. These changes have narrowed the differences between the two countries. They appear to reflect recent socio-economic developments in each country: improved economic conditions and modernization in Greece and economic recession and conservativism in the USA. The lower endorsement of the familial interaction theory in probably due to the resurgence of rival theories in the USA and in Greece to a moderation in familialism. Mental health professionals appear to follow rather than shape social policy.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Askenasy

Altitudes towards mental patients: A study across cultures. Hague, Netherlands: Mouton, 1974.

Cohen

Struening

E. L.

Opinions about mental illness in the personnel of two large hospitals. J. abnorm. soc. Psychol., 1962, 64, 349–360.

Friedl

Vasilika: A village in modern Greece. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1964.

Hammersley

D. W.

Stigma and astigmatism and mental health fiscal issues. In Rabkin

J. G.

Gelb

Lazar

J. B.

(Eds.), Attitudes towards the mentally ill: Research perspectives. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health, 1980. Pp. 60–64. [DHHS No. (ADM) 80-1031].

Koutrelakos

Gedeon

S. M.

Struening

E. L.

Opinions about mental illness: A comparison of American and Greek professionals and laymen. Psychol. Rep., 1978, 43, 915–923.

Levine

A cross-national study of attitudes toward mental illness. J. abnorm. Psychol., 1972, 80, 111–114.

Mourgos

S. L.

Economic development and distributional trends in post-war Greece. (Doctoral dissertation, New York Univer.) Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1979.

Rabkin

J. G.

Opinions about mental illness: A review of the literature. Psychol. Bull., 1972, 77, 153–171.

Rabkin

J. G.

Public attitude toward mental illness: A review of the literature. Schizophrenia Bull., 1974, 10, 9–33.

10.

Rabkin

J. G.

Determinants of public attitudes about mental illness: Summary of the research literature. In Rabkin

J. G.

Gelb

Lazar

J. B.

(Eds.), Attitudes towards the mentally ill: Research perspectives. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Public Health, 1980. Pp. 15–26. [DHHS No. (ADM)80-1031].

11.

Rosenthal

Kety

S. S.

(Eds.) The transmission of schizophrenia. Oxford, Eng.: Pergamon, 1968.

12.

Steadman

H. J.

Assessing the sources of perceptions of the dangerousness of the mentally ill. In Rabkin

J. G.

Gelb

Lazar

J. B.

(Eds.), Attitudes toward the mentally ill: Research perspectives. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Public Health, 1980. Pp. 37–40. [DHHS No. (ADM)80-1031].

13.

Struening

E. L.

Cohen

Factorial invariance and other psychometric characteristics of five opinions about mental illness factors. Educ. psychol. Measmt, 1963, 23, 289–297. Who cares for the mentally ill? New York Times, November 5, 1981, 131 (No. 45123), P. A26. (Editorial).