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KMID : 0897520000050010097
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Journal of Korean Association of Social Psychiatry
2000 Volume.5 No. 1 p.97 ~ p.105
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Attitudes toward the Mental Illness among Christian Priests, Families of the Mentally Ill, and Community Leaders in Namyangju City, Kyongki Province
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Suh Guk-Hee
Shin Hyong-Ju
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Abstract
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Objectives：To identify the attitudes toward the mental illness and factors critical to them among the key-persons in the community, who may have great influence on the progression of Namyangju City community mental health service and to obtain the initial data for the further evaluation to assess the interval changes in attitudes of them before and after the service.
Method：This study was conducted between April, 1997 and December, 1997 as a part of the Namyangju City community mental health service, using the OMI scale to measure the attitudes toward the mental illness. 120 questionnaires out of 697 were collected(response rate：18%), that were posted to the community opinion leaders. 57 out of 75 were collected(response rate：76%), that were passed out to the Christian priest at the mental health seminar. 47 out of 50 were collected(response rate：94%), that were filled up at the time of patient registration by the family members of them.
Result：1) Highest ‘Benevolence’ score in whole subjects may be a evidence of cordial and generous attitudes toward the mentally ill from the standpoint of humanity, but small gap between ‘mental hygiene ideology’ score and ‘social restrictiveness’ score suggested the confused and vague attitudes toward the mentally ill. 2) ‘Authoritatianism’ score and ‘interpersonal etiology’ score were statistically significantly higher in family group than in other two, that suggested the ambivalent emotion intermingled with guilt and anger. 3) NIMBY phenomenon was observed in the attitude toward the mentally ill in community opinion leader group. 4) ‘Benevolence’ score was statistically significantly highest and ‘social restrictiveness’ was lowest in Christian priest group. However, ‘mental hygiene ideology’ score is not statistically different among three groups. It suggested that more Christian priests had higher tendency to comprehend the mental illness as ‘Satan possession’, to treat it by faith healing, and to put the patients with mental illness away from the society.
Conclusion：It is expected that the Christian priests and community opinion leaders need to have new knowledge about the etiologies of mental illness, and see the typical cases with scientific and humanistic attitudes. For the family members and community opinion leaders to improve ‘mental hygiene ideology’, public information about symptoms and management of mental illness and emergency, and how to transfer them to the hospital have to be given.
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KEYWORD
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OMI, NiMBY, Christian priest, Mental Illness, Attitude, Community leader
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