Cultural Perceptions of the Mentally Ill: Australian and Papua New Guinean High School Youth

Abstract

One hundred and thirty-three (76 male, 57 female) Papua New Guinean (PNG) and 144 (93 male, 51 female) Australian high school students completed a series of structured and open-ended measures on attitudes to the mentally ill, especially opinions about the nature of mental illness, characteristics of the mentally ill, and treatment. Both groups of students suggested hereditary and environmental causes, with PNG students citing more often witchcraft and sorcery. Australian students generally presented more favourable attitudes to mental illness, in that they were more willing to work with or marry the mentally ill. PNG students, however, were more likely to highlight the disruptive, violent behaviour of the long long and possibly held a much narrower view of the types of persons labelled mentally ill.