Mental health knowledge and attitudes among social workers employed in a supported education program for adult students with schizophrenia

Objective: To explore mental health knowledge and attitudes to persons with psychiatric impairments among social workers involved in a supported education program (SEP) for adults with psychiatric disabilities. Methods: All social workers employed in an SEP countrywide (n = 25) and a control group of social workers from other psychosocial rehabilitation programs, matched by age, sex, marital status, and both years of education and work experiences (n=28), completed a 17-item questionnaire probing into their mental health knowledge and attitudes. Frequency distributions, chi-square statistics and t-tests were used to analyze the data. Results: Compared with the control group, the social workers in the SEP ascribed more significance to environmental stress in the development of depressive disorders. They felt that students with schizophrenia were no more dangerous than most other students and that most were able to maintain good relationships with others. The SEP participants also displayed more positive attitudes to their patients' academic achievements. No between-group differences were found in knowledge about psychiatric disorders. Conclusions: The results suggest that participation in an SEP has potential to foster more positive attitudes among social workers. This in turn would enable the integration of former psychiatric inpatients into the adult education system. Programs designed to increase knowledge about mental health and to promote more favorable attitudes to persons with psychiatric impairments among social workers should be made part of this important rehabilitation effort. Taylor & Francis Group, LLC