Attitudes of Turkish and American Clinicians and Turkish Psychology Students Toward Mental Patients

A comparative study of Turkish and American clinicians and first and fourth year Turkish psychology undergraduates was carried out. The respondents' attitudes about the "behavior of a mental patient" were assessed through a semantic differential task. Statistical comparisons showed that the four groups were very similar to each other although there were some significant differences. The possibilities of Western influence, similar groups selecting the fields of psychiatry and psychology, and psychology students forming a special well-informed group were discussed. A need for further research to clarify the findings was pointed out.