All Conference Presentations, Performances and Exhibits
Attitudes Towards Recreational Drugs, Psychiatric Medication, and Mental Illness
Location
Guzman Lecture Hall
Start Date
4-14-2016 6:00 PM
End Date
4-14-2016 7:00 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Emily Newton, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Scheyett (2005) defines stigma as “negative judgments we levy against each other based on devalued group identities e.g., the mentally ill”. Stigma is a concerning topic when it comes to mental illness because people who are mentally ill are being mistreated and looked down on by society. Research has showed that the way people view psychiatric medication correlates to their stigmatizing beliefs about the mentally ill. The negative stereotype of being “medicated” may fuel some of the stigma towards mental illness. Stone and Merlo (2011) found that people who have had experience with psychiatric medication had a positive attitude towards the use of psychiatric medication and also displayed less stigmatizing beliefs towards mental illness. There has not been a lot of research that looks at how attitudes towards recreational drug use correlates to attitudes toward mental illness. Attitudes towards these three issues (mental illness, psychiatric medication use, and recreational drug use) could be connected and influence each other. This research is important because it could give insight into what influences people’s attitudes toward mental illness. It can also help establish methods to reduce stigma towards mental illness. The purpose of this study is to determine if there are correlations between the way people view recreational drug use, psychiatric medication, and mental illness. Participants will be recruited by email, through social media, and in classes at Dominican University of California. Through a surveymonkey.com link, participants will be asked to provide their gender, age, and their country of origin as well as respond to a total of 46 statements from the Attitudes Toward Severe Mental Illness Scale (Madianos, 2011), a Recreational Drug Use Questionnaire (Kurzban, Dukes, & Weeden, 2010, as adapted by Quintelier et al., 2013) and the Attitudes Toward Prescription Medications scale (Croghan et al., 2003). It is hypothesized that; 1) people who are accepting of recreational drug use have less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and 2) people who are accepting of psychiatric medication have less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness. The data will be collected during February and March of 2016.
Attitudes Towards Recreational Drugs, Psychiatric Medication, and Mental Illness
Guzman Lecture Hall
Scheyett (2005) defines stigma as “negative judgments we levy against each other based on devalued group identities e.g., the mentally ill”. Stigma is a concerning topic when it comes to mental illness because people who are mentally ill are being mistreated and looked down on by society. Research has showed that the way people view psychiatric medication correlates to their stigmatizing beliefs about the mentally ill. The negative stereotype of being “medicated” may fuel some of the stigma towards mental illness. Stone and Merlo (2011) found that people who have had experience with psychiatric medication had a positive attitude towards the use of psychiatric medication and also displayed less stigmatizing beliefs towards mental illness. There has not been a lot of research that looks at how attitudes towards recreational drug use correlates to attitudes toward mental illness. Attitudes towards these three issues (mental illness, psychiatric medication use, and recreational drug use) could be connected and influence each other. This research is important because it could give insight into what influences people’s attitudes toward mental illness. It can also help establish methods to reduce stigma towards mental illness. The purpose of this study is to determine if there are correlations between the way people view recreational drug use, psychiatric medication, and mental illness. Participants will be recruited by email, through social media, and in classes at Dominican University of California. Through a surveymonkey.com link, participants will be asked to provide their gender, age, and their country of origin as well as respond to a total of 46 statements from the Attitudes Toward Severe Mental Illness Scale (Madianos, 2011), a Recreational Drug Use Questionnaire (Kurzban, Dukes, & Weeden, 2010, as adapted by Quintelier et al., 2013) and the Attitudes Toward Prescription Medications scale (Croghan et al., 2003). It is hypothesized that; 1) people who are accepting of recreational drug use have less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and 2) people who are accepting of psychiatric medication have less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness. The data will be collected during February and March of 2016.