Appendix A Screening questionnaire presented to all participants Adapted from Cohen and Struening’s Opinions about Mental Illness (OMI) questionnaire (1962) Instructions: Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements. Remember that there is no right or wrong answer; the statements are simply a matter of opinion. 1. If parents loved their children more, there would be less mental illness. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 2. One of the main causes of mental illness is a lack of moral strength or will power. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 3. Mental patients come from homes where the parents took little interest in their children. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 4. Although they usually aren t aware of it, many people become mentally ill to avoid the ‟ difficult problems of everyday life. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 5. The mental illness of many people is caused by the separation or divorce of their parents during childhood. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 6. People would not become mentally ill if they avoided bad thoughts. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 7. People who are mentally ill let their emotions control them; normal people think things out. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 8. If the children of mentally ill parents were raised by normal parents, they would probably not become mentally ill. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree
9. When a person has a problem or worry, it is best not to think about it, but keep busy with more pleasant things. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 10. Nervous breakdowns usually result when people work too hard. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 11. The patients of a mental hospital should have something to say about the way the hospital is run. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 12. Mental illness is usually caused by some disease of the nervous system. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 13. All patients in mental hospitals should be prevented from having children by a painless operation. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 14. The small children of patients in mental hospitals should not be allowed to visit them. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 15. Mental illness is an illness like any other. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 16. It is easy to recognize someone who once had a serious mental illness. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 17. Most mental patients are willing to work. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 18. Regardless of how you look at it, patients with severe mental illness are no longer really human.
19. Many people who have never been patients in a mental hospital are more mentally ill than many hospitalized mental patients. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 20. There is something about mental patients that makes it easy to tell them from normal people. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 21. If people would talk less and work more, everybody would be better off. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 22. Even though patients in mental hospitals behave in funny ways, it is wrong to laugh about them. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 23. People with mental illness should never be treated in the same hospital as people with physical illness. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 24. A person who has bad manners, habits, and breeding can hardly expect to get along with decent people. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 25. If the children of normal parents were raised by mentally ill parents, they would probably become mentally ill. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 26. A heart patient has just one thing wrong with him, while a mentally ill person is completely different from other patients. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 27. To become a patient in a mental hospital is to become a failure in life. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree
28. Patients in mental hospitals are in many ways like children. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 29. More tax money should be spent in the care and treatment of people with severe mental illness. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 30. Although some mental patients seem all right, it is dangerous to forget for a moment that they are mentally ill. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 31. A woman would be foolish to marry a man who has had a severe mental illness, even though he seems fully recovered. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 32. Anyone who tries hard to better himself deserves the respect of others. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 33. Our mental hospitals seem more like prisons than like places where mentally ill people can be cared for. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 34. People who have been patients in a mental hospital will never be their old selves again. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 35. If our hospitals had enough well trained doctors, nurses, and aides, many of the patients would get well enough to live outside the hospital. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 36. The law should allow a woman to divorce her husband as soon as he has been confined in a mental hospital with a severe mental illness. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree
37. The best way to handle patients in mental hospitals is to keep them behind locked doors. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 38. Many patients in mental hospitals make wholesome friendships with other patients. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 39. Although patients discharged from mental hospitals may seem all right, they should not be allowed to marry. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 40. Many mental patients are capable of skilled labor, even though in some ways they are very disturbed mentally. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 41. There is little that can be done for patients in a mental hospital except to see that they are comfortable and well fed. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 42. Many mental patients would remain in the hospital until they were well, even if the doors were unlocked. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 43. Anyone who is in a hospital for a mental illness should not be allowed to vote. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 44. Every mental hospital should be surrounded by a high fence and guards. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 45. Every person should make a strong attempt to raise his social position. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 46. Most women who were once patients in a mental hospital could be trusted as baby sitters. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree
47. Most patients in mental hospitals don t care how they look. ‟ Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 48. Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 49. College professors are more likely to become mentally ill than are business men. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 50. People who are successful in their work seldom become mentally ill. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 51. There is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel a great love, gratitude, and respect for his parents. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 52. The death penalty is inhuman and should be abolished. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 53. Every person should have complete faith in some supernatural power whose decisions he obeys without question. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree Additional questions 54. Schizophrenia is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the brain. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 55. Schizophrenia is caused by defective genes. Strongly disagree Disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly agree 56. Have you ever been diagnosed with schizophrenia? Yes No
57. Would you be willing to participate in a followup interview to discuss your opinions about mental illness (for additional credit)?
Yes No
