Experienced Turkish nurses' attitudes towards mental illness and the predictor variables of their attitudes

Abstract

General attitudes towards mental illness, attitudes towards two vignettes, and possible predictor variables of these attitudes were investigated among experienced Turkish nurses. The analyses showed that the nurses accepted both organic and psychological causation and had rather positive views on drug treatment, psychotherapy, and prognosis. However, they were more favourably disposed towards psychological causation and psychotherapy; the paranoid schizophrenia description was more readily perceived as mental illness and more 'negative' ratings were recorded for this than was the case in the description of neurosis. In terms of predictors, university education was related to lower acceptance of psychotherapy and chances of recovery; older respondents showed higher social distance to the neurosis vignette. The findings were discussed within the context of previous findings from Turkey and other countries.