Premium
Community mental health ideology and activity interests
Author(s) -
McWilliams Spencer A.,
Lewis Susan B.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/bf00885658
Subject(s) - mental health , ideology , sociology , health psychology , citation , library science , center (category theory) , psychology , gerontology , public health , medicine , nursing , political science , law , psychiatry , politics , computer science , chemistry , crystallography
Sixty mental health professionals completed two scales: the Community Mental Health Ideology Scale (CMHI), and a scale rating the importance of, and personal interest in, a range of mental health activities. The overall mean CMHI score was comparable to that of clinical psychologists surveyed in the original CMHI study. CMHI scores correlated significantly with subjects' ratings of the importance for the general community to provide a range of services other than direct rehabilitative services. Ratings of the importance for community mental health centers to provide mental health planning and development, and activities directed at general community and social problems, also correlated significantly with CMHI scores. Additionally, CMHI scores were related to personal interest in participating in a broad range of mental health activities. The results contribute to the construct validity of the CMHI and support the notion that community mental health ideology relates to actual mental health activity interest.