title: Public perception of ex-mental patients.
abstract: Data are presented from two studies which show that perceptions of ex-mental patients appear to derive from a lack of information and that the provision of information alters the perception of former patients. Perceived unpredictability of behavior and dangerousness seem to form a dyad that causes the public to fear the mentally ill. More positive perceptions of mildly ill ex-mental patients were obtained when subjects were given short paragraphs describing typical behaviors and symptoms. These findings support the notion that a fear-motivated threat recoil cycle process is likely to be evoked by attempts to establish locally based treatment facilities, particularly in residential communities.
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D009518:New York; D010465:Perception; D012659:Semantic Differential; D014505:Urban Population