Concern about mental health is on the increase in North America. Increased concern necessitated the provision of more treatment facilities for mental illness. For this reason, research is being conducted in the mental health field. This study is the first undertaken in Canada, in an attempt to investigate a possible relationship between social class and mental illness. The study focussed on social class and treatment in a mental health setting at the Mental Health Centre, Burnaby, and comparisons were made with studies done in the United States. Data were made available through the B. C. Department of Vital Statistics. These data were collected at the Mental Health Centre, Adult Clinic, Burnaby from April 1, 1959 to March 31, 1964. As the data were not collected by the researchers, there are limitations which are discussed in the study. Of the total number of persons seen at the Adult Clinic, 1231 were given treatment and terminated during this five year period. These were the subjects of this study. The findings reveal no significant relationship between social class and the kind of treatment, or, between social class and the length of treatment. However, the findings do indicate that diagnosis is related to both social class and assignment of a therapist. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This research project was undertaken to determine if there are social class differences in the pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization experiences of individuals defined as mentally ill. Social class was defined through the application of educational level and occupational status. The data obtained from the Riverview Hospital covered a two year period from April 1, 1965 through March 31, 1967. Three main hypotheses were formulated to deal with the following topics: (1) The relationship between social class and employment. (2) The relationship between social class and duration of illness prior to admission to hospital. (3) The relationship between social class and contact with family or relatives. Significant trends were found to exist. Representative of these were: (1) Relating social class and employment before admission to hospital and following discharge from hospital, more higher class subjects than lower class subjects were employed before admission to and following discharge from hospital. (2) Relating social class and the period of mental illness prior to hospitalization, the results show more higher class subjects than lower class hospitalized within a one year period for psychotic mental illness. The findings of this research project support the stated hypotheses, confirm the results shown by other studies, opened new areas for further research, and indicated possible application of findings for social work practice. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

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Cigarette smoking in adults with serious mental illness (SMI) has increased even when accounting for a decrease of smoking among the general population. Most of the research has focused on the prevalence, rates, and effects of smoking in adults with SMI. Little research has examined the motivations for smoking and experiences with smoking cessation among adults with SMI. Such an understanding may facilitate a reduction in smoking in this population. To address this gap in the literature, 12 adults with SMI who live in the southern Nevada area and smoke were selected through invitations distributed at a treatment facility and the use of the snowball technique. Interviews were designed to elicit these adults' views and experiences of smoking and smoking cessation. The health belief model provided the conceptual framework for this phenomenological study. Interview data were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed with emergent codes and themes. Three major themes emerged from participant stories: perceived benefits to cigarette smoking, problems related to smoking cessation, and risks related to cigarette smoking. Results indicated that participants found a sense of relaxation and means of socialization while smoking. Despite attempts to quit smoking, participants struggled with the withdrawals of nicotine which led to continuous smoking despite the negative consequences of smoking on their quality of life. This study contributes to positive social change by revealing the voices of adults with SMI, which helps illuminate a more holistic approach to treatment. Study findings may contribute in the development and implementation of smoking cessation programs for this specific population.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Objectives: The Attribution Model of mental illness stigma posits that attributions about the causes and controllability of mental illness contribute to prejudicial emotional reactions, which in turn may lead to discriminatory behaviors towards people with mental illnesses. Given that people make different assumptions about different mental illnesses, if this model is correct, it suggests that specific diagnoses would elicit different types of stigma. Another important, but unexamined, predictor is extrinsic religious orientation, which correlates positively with other types of prejudice and may predict higher levels of mental illness stigma. The purpose of this study was to test the Attribution Model of stigma and examine the relationships between diagnosis, religious orientation, and stigma. Methods: Participants (n = 334) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk, randomized to read one of three vignettes about a person with a mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, depression), and completed measures of mental illness stigma, religious orientation and affiliation, familiarity with mental illness, and authoritarianism. Using latent variable path analysis, analysis of covariance, and multiple regression analyses, relationships in the Attribution Model of mental illness stigma were assessed, as well as the impact of diagnosis and extrinsic religiosity on specific aspects of stigma as measured by the Attribution Questionnare-27 subscales (i.e., blame, anger, pity, danger/fear, avoidance, segregation, and coercion). Results: Assessment of the Attribution Model indicated moderate overall model fit after respecification. Path coefficients indicated strong relationships between variables that were generally consistent with paths predicted by the model. One notable exception was that feelings of pity were not associated with greater helping behaviors. Analysis of covariance suggested that diagnosis was a key predictor of stigma, and that schizophrenia was the most stigmatized. Multiple regression analyses revealed that extrinsic religiosity was also an important predictor of stigma; extrinsic religiosity appeared to increase certain types of stigma, and moderate the relationship between diagnosis and stigma overall. Discussion: Although the respecified Attribution Model fit the data fairly well, the findings suggest that either the scale or the model would benefit from further refinement. Results support prior evidence that severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia are more stigmatized than other diagnoses. Extrinsic religiosity was also predictive of increased stigma, both directly and indirectly. As a moderator, extrinsic religiosity may decrease the impact of diagnosis on stigma, raising stigma for diagnoses perceived as more “controllable” (i.e., anorexia nervosa, depression) such that levels were similar to schizophrenia. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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Thesis (B.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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