Public Views of Ex-Mental Patients: A Note on Perceived Dangerousness and Unpredictability

The adjectives most strongly attributed to the concept of ex-mental patient by a sample of 30 male and female suburbanites were excitable, strange, tense, strong, uncertain, unsure, unpredictable, convincing, active, and mysterious. In addition, an r of .74 was found between dangerous and unpredictable. These findings may suggest that although the public stereotype of mental patients has undergone positive change since 1960, ex-mental patients still tend to be perceived as potential threat-bearers to the community. Unfounded fears based upon this perception may motivate resistances to community-based treatment programs for this group.