Attitudes towards people with a mental disorder: a survey of the Australian public and health professionals

Objective: The aim of this paper was to compare the Australian public's att itudes towards people who have been treated for a mental disorder with the attitudes of general practitioners, psychiatrists and clinical psychologist s. Method: The study involved a household survey of 2031 members of the Austra lian public and a postal survey of 872 general practitioners, 1128 psychiat rists and 454 clinical psychologists. Survey participants were presented wi th a vignette describing a person with schizophrenia or one with depression . They were asked opinions about the person's long-term outcome in various areas of life after receiving treatment. Participants were also asked wheth er they thought the person described would be discriminated against by othe rs. Results: Both the public and professionals rated outcomes as poorer and dis crimination as more likely for the person with schizophrenia than for the o ne with depression, The professionals made more negative ratings than the p ublic, although the clinical psychologists had similar attitudes to the pub lic about depression, Conclusions: Compared to the public, health professionals rate long-term ou tcomes more negatively and discrimination as more likely. It is possible th at these more negative attitudes are realistic, being based on greater know ledge of mental disorders. However, professional attitudes may be biased by greater contact with patients who have chronic or recurrent disorders. Eit her way, health professionals need to be aware of the effects that their ne gative attitudes might have on patients and the public.