ATTITUDES OF PHARMACY STUDENTS TOWARD MENTAL-ILLNESS

Undergraduate pharmacy students' attitudes toward mental illness were measured by a questionnaire that also included questions about students' demographic variables and previous exposure to mental illness. Baccalaureate pharmacy students entering their first week of clinical rotations were asked to voluntarily complete a questionnaire that included Whatley's social distance scale and Morrison's Client Attitude Questionnaire version B (CAQ-B). Information was also sought about demographics, socioeconomic factors, and prior exposure to mental illness. Possible total scores for Whatley's social distance scale range from 8 to 24, with lower scores implying more favorable attitudes toward mentall ill patients. Possible total scores for the CAQ-B range from 20 to 60, with scores lower than 40 indicative of a medical-model orientation and scores higher than 46 indicative of a pyschosocial-model orientation. A total of 250 students completed the questionnaire. The first 85 students received Morrison's CAQ-B; the other 165 students completed both scales. The mean ± S.D. score of 13.6 ± 3.5 on the social distance scale indicates that the pharmacy students generally had favorable attitudes toward patients with mental illness. The mean ± S.D. score of 32.8 ± 3.6 on the CAQ-B indicates that the pharmacy students accepted a medical-model orientation. Students reporting a family history of psychiatric diagnoses and hospitalizations, a personal psychiatric diagnosis, or a history of visiting a psychiatric hospital had more favorable attitudes toward mentally ill patients. Female students and students who had a family history of psychiatric hospitalizations and diagnoses were significantly more oriented toward the medical model than students without this history. The undergraduate pharmacy students surveyed generally had favorable attitudes toward mental illness and adhered to the medical-model paradigm.