COLLEGIAL SUPPORT AND BARRIERS TO BEHAVIORAL PROGRAMS FOR SEVERE MENTAL-ILLNESS

Previous investigations have identified staff beliefs about barriers t o implementing behavioral interventions in programs for persons with s evere mental illness. One of these barriers, institutional constraints , was found to be associated with collegial support; i.e., staff who r eport more collegial support were less likely to endorse institutional constraints. The purpose of this study was to determine how the compo nents of collegial support were associated with beliefs about institut ional constraints. Fifty-six staff members completed measures of staff opinions about barriers to implementing behavior therapy, satisfactio n with collegial support, source of support, and functions of support. Results suggested that collegial support is significantly associated with coworker and supervisor support, but not the support of family an d friends. Endorsing institutional constraints was inversely associate d with the support of co-workers and supervisors; institutional constr aints were positively associated with the support of family and friend s. Endorsing institutional constraints was also inversely associated w ith the sense that others rely upon the individual for their well-bein g. Implications of these findings for diminishing barriers to behavior al interventions are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.