Attitude toward mental disorders : A comparative study of a attitude of nurses and attendants between Japan and Brazil

Attitude of nureses and attendants toward mental disorders was studied by using question-naire in Japan and Brazil. By factor analysis, three factors, negative attitude toward mental disorders and misunder-standing, positive attitude toward mental disorders and mental health ideology were extracted. The score of negative attitude toward mental disorders and misunderstanding was high in Brazil. This was suspected to be caused by poor knowledge about mental disorders. The score of positive attitude toward mental disorders was similar in Japan and Brazil. The score of mental health ideology was high in Japan. Mental health ideology is important to improve the attitude toward mental disorders both Japan and Brazil. It is important to spread knowledge about mental disorders in Brazil. In Japan, it is important to increase the interest in mental disorders