PSYCHIATRIC-RESIDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARD PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MENTAL-ILLNESS

Objective: The study examined psychiatric residents' attitudes toward, knowledge about, and training in the care of patients with chronic me ntal illness. Methods: The authors constructed a 41-item Residents' At titude Toward the Chronically Mentally Ill Scale to obtain a systemati c assessment of attitudes. The scale's validity was enhanced by input from 12 psychiatrists who were knowledgeable about work with and attit udes toward such patients, and a test showed the scale to have high re liability. The scale was administered to 85 psychiatric residents, alo ng with questionnaires focused on training and knowledge and the Marlo we-Crowne Social Desirability Scale assessing defensiveness and self-d eception. Results: No correlation was found between residents' attitud es and years of residency training or between attitudes and knowledge about patients with chronic mental illness. Residents reported many ne gative attitudes toward this patient population. However, significant positive correlations were found between the residents' attitudes and their training in settings where patients were considered to receive h igh-quality care and supervisors were good role models. Conclusions: C onstructive training experiences during residency can have a positive influence on residents' attitudes toward patients with chronic mental illness.