Relationship of Staff Development Activity to Opinions about Mental Illness

When 1971 and 1974 student psychiatric aides. matt psychiatric aides, and professionals at Topeka State Hospital in Kansas were given the five-factor or Opinions about Mental Illness Scale as pre- and postlests. no significant differences were found in scores of the student aide groups. Significant differences however, were found among 1974 student aides, maff aides, and professionals. with students coring higher than professionals (p05) on factors A authoritarianism. D nocial restrictiveness. and E interpersonal etiology. Staff aides scored higher than professionals on factor B benevolence, factor A authoritarianism (p =.005). and factor D social restrictiveness (p =.05). Implications for nursing are discussed.