The effects of age and exposure to mental illness educational material on student nurses' attitudes toward the mentally ill

Stigmatization is a serious impediment to the well being of individuals with chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia threatens the effectiveness of individuals responsible for providing treatment and rehabilitation services. Education about persons with schizophrenia has been shown to have an affirmative effect on the attitudes of healthcare professionals and students toward persons with schizophrenia. It has been shown that nurses who underwent in-depth training and education relating to schizophrenia expressed increased positive attitudes toward those with the disorder. Although the effect of education on attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia has been previously examined in the literature, the effect of age on such attitudes has not been widely investigated. This study examined the effects of age and exposure to educational material about schizophrenia on the attitudes of student nurses. Results indicated that neither age nor exposure to educational materials on schizophrenia had an affirmative effect on the remediation of attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia. It has been illustrated that the brief intervention provided by the present study was not sufficient in changing attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia. Implications for future study include interpersonal contact with persons with schizophrenia, longer educational interventions, and the merging of contact and educational interventions for the effective remediation of attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia.