Knowledge of mental health law and attitude toward mental illness among attorneys in Nigeria

IF 5 Q1 PSYCHIATRY
O. Akanni, N. Igbinomwanhia, A. Ogunwale, A. Osundina
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Introduction: There are legal provisions for the protection of those who are mentally ill, and law officers may have a role in this regard. Few, if any studies have attempted to investigate the knowledge about and attitude towards mental illness among the members of the legal profession. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted among attorneys in Benin-City, Edo State, South-South, Nigeria, using a 21-item knowledge/attitude questionnaire. Results: Seventy-five attorneys who filled the questionnaire were in the age range of 23 and 65 years, with more males (69.3%), more married (60.8%), and more private defense attorneys (79.2%) participating. A greater proportion (64.8%) had not adjudicated for persons with mental illness, and a few (22.2%) would not agree to solicit for them. Only a few were accurate about when the Nigerian mental health law was enacted (9.3%), what it says about the treatment of the mentally ill persons (3.0%), and the handling of the property of the same (3.1%). Although only a minority (7.1%) were familiar with the provisions of the insanity defense under section 28 of the criminal code, most (85.9%) identified correctly the disposal of a mentally ill person found unfit to plead according to the criminal procedure act. Conclusion: Lawyers in the study appeared to have very little experiential knowledge about mental illness, demonstrated a poor level of knowledge regarding mental health laws as well as criminal provisions regarding mentally abnormal offenders. There is a need to improve training content in Legal education in Nigeria with regard to legislation affecting both civil and criminal aspects of mental disorder.
尼日利亚律师的精神卫生法知识和对精神疾病的态度
导言:有保护精神病患者的法律规定,执法人员可在这方面发挥作用。很少有研究试图调查法律专业人员对精神疾病的知识和态度。方法:采用21项知识/态度问卷,对尼日利亚南南江户州贝宁市的律师进行横断面描述性调查。结果:75名律师年龄在23 ~ 65岁之间,男性占69.3%,已婚占60.8%,私人辩护律师占79.2%。较大比例(64.8%)没有为精神疾病人士作出裁决,少数人(22.2%)不同意为他们征求意见。只有少数人准确回答了尼日利亚精神卫生法颁布的时间(9.3%)、该法对精神病患者治疗的规定(3.0%)以及对这些人财产的处理(3.1%)。虽然只有少数人(7.1%)熟悉《刑法》第28条关于精神错乱辩护的规定,但大多数人(85.9%)正确地识别了根据《刑事诉讼法》被认定不适合辩护的精神病患者的处置。结论:研究中的律师似乎对精神疾病的经验知识非常少,对精神卫生法以及关于精神异常罪犯的刑事规定的知识水平很低。有必要改进尼日利亚法律教育中涉及精神障碍民事和刑事方面立法的培训内容。
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来源期刊
Asian Journal of Social Health and Behavior
Asian Journal of Social Health and Behavior Social Sciences-Health (social science)
CiteScore
8.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
18
审稿时长
17 weeks
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