Discriminatory Differentials Against Mentally Ill Persons by Mental Health Professionals

Abstract

Globally, mentally ill persons suffer discrimination. This study examined discriminatory differentials against mentally ill persons by mental health professionals (MHPs). The correlation research design was used for the study and the instrument for data collection was a researcher-designed questionnaire. Validity of the instrument was established by three experts in health psychology and two in science education. The population for the study consisted of 105 MHPs which also constituted the sample. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The research questions were answered using the correlation coefficient while regression analysis was used to test the null hypotheses. The results of the study revealed that the relationship between MHPs’ age, gender, and level of education and discrimination was very low. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended among others that both male and female MHPs, irrespective of their characteristics, be involved in the team approach.