Personality and attitudes towards people with mental disorders: Preliminary studies results

Abstract

Background: The subject of psychological research all over the world is to understand the factors conditioning relationships between healthy people and people with mental disorders. Authors analysing attitudes towards people with mental disorders emphasize the importance of two types of determinants: personality factors and demographic and social variables. Aim: The aim of the research was to determine the interdependencies between personality traits and attitudes towards people with mental disorders, taking into account the moderating role of social distance and demographic and environmental variables. Method: Polish version of Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) – Kwestionariusz Postaw (KP) was used to measure attitudes towards people with mental disorders. Personality traits were measured using the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (FFI) Personality Inventory by Costa and McCrae–Polish Adaptation, and the polish version of the Social Distance Scale was used to measure the declared social distance. In all, 204 people participated in the research: 133 women and 71 men, aged 18–65 years, living in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships. Results: The results showed that there is a relationship between personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience and agreeableness and an attitude towards people with mental disorders. Social distance, as the proposed moderator, did not significantly change the relationship between the variables. Conclusion: The results of the research have confirmed the important role of personality factors for attitudes, what should be remembered to exploration of presented phenomenon.