The effects of training and social orientation on attitudes towards psychiatric treatments.
The literature relating to psychiatric nurses' attitudes towards treatment is reviewed and a study reported which (a) compared the attitudes towards treatment of 51 trainee psychiatric nurses at different points in their training (in their first year, in their second year, and in their third year) using the Attitudes to Treatment Questionnaire (ATQ) revised by Caine et al., and (b) investigated the relationship between conservatism/radicalism as measured by the Wilson-Patterson Attitude Inventory (WPAI) and attitudes towards treatment. The results indicated that the groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards treatment, the first year group being significantly less liberal, having a more physical attitude towards treatment, than the second and third year groups. Overall there was no significant correlation between conservatism and attitudes to treatment found. However, there was a highly significant correlation between these two variables for the third year group of students. For this group, higher conservatism scores were associated with less liberal attitudes to treatment. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions made for further research.
Clarke
L
L
Psychiatric Division, Sussex Downs School of Nursing.
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004506:Education, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D012933:Social Identification