Effect of Contact with Patients on Attitudes of Student Nurses Towards the Mentally Ill

Introduction: Studies of social attitudes towards the mentally ill revealed their down-casting as untrustworthy, ineffective and even dangerous. It is hypothesized that contact with patients is associated with an increase in favourable attitudes towards the mentally ill. Method: An attitude test was administered to student nurses before and after their psychiatric nurse training rotation. Results: A significant increase in favourable attitudes was found at the expense of a reduction in undecided and unfavourable attitudes. Discussion: The social down-casting of the mentally was reflected in student nurse’s initial attitudes towards the mentally ill as dangerous and unreliable or at least unproductive human beings. Conclusion: Contact with patients during training elicited empathy of trainee nurses and this was reflected in more favourable attitudes towards the mentally ill and the correction of unfavourable or undecided attitude of awe, untrustworthiness, unpredictability and even dangerousness derived from the culture from which the student nurses come.