Effects of Mental Illness Education Using Movies on Perceptions and Attitudes of Middle and High School Teachers toward Mental Illness

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify effects of 'mental illness education using movies' on the perceptions and attitudes toward mental illness held by middle and high school teachers. Methods: The participantswere 66middleandhigh school teachers, 33inthe experimental group and 33 in thecontrol group. The 'mentalillnesseducationusing movies' wasgivento theexperimentalgrouptwiceaweek fortwoweeks. The perceptions and attitudestowardmentalillnesswere measured usingthe Knowledge and Attitude towardMental Illness Questionnaire developed by Park, Paik, and Kwack (1995). Results:After the mental illness education, there wasa significant difference betweentheexperiment andcontrolgroup for psychological and environmental concepts toward mental illness(t=7.10, p<.001). Conclusion:'Mentalillness educationusingmovies' haslimited effects on the perceptions and attitudes of middle and high school teachers toward mental illness. The results ofthisstudy indicatethat further researchisneeded witharevisedcontentsof 'the mental illness educationusing movies' if perceptions and attitudes are to be changed.