Public attitude to compulsory admission of mentally ill people.
OBJECTIVE
Assessing the public attitude to compulsory admission of mentally ill in Switzerland and analyzing the influence of demographic, psychological, and sociological factors.


METHODS
We conducted a representative telephone survey with 1737 interviewees. In a logistic regression analysis compulsory admission was used as the dependent variable.


RESULTS
More than 70% of the respondents display a positive attitude to compulsory admission. Education, negative stereotypes, and living in the French speaking part of Switzerland are predictors for accepting compulsory admission whereas older age, extreme political opinion, and rigid personality traits show an inverse effect. Negative emotions, anomie, social distance, and contact to mentally ill have no significant influence.


CONCLUSIONS
The mostly positive attitude to compulsory admission suggests that the public trust in psychiatry to deal with the assigned responsibility.
Lauber
Christoph
C
Psychiatric University Hospital, Militärstrasse 8, PO Box 1930, CH-8021 Zurich, Switzerland. christoph.lauber@puk.zh.ch
Nordt
C
C
Falcato
L
L
Rössler
W
W
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D013689:Telephone