[Profile of undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards mental disease, before the influence of specific academic education].

Students starting the Nursing Course bring with them stereotypes and prejudice in relation to mentally-ill people, thus showing lack of knowledge as to their possibilities of recovery and social living. This study aimed at elaborating a profile of the attitudes presented by these students in relation to such people and at showing aspects that can negatively influence their future professional conduct. To that end, the opinion scale for mental disease was used. The students presented a negative attitude profile, which made it possible to conclude that academic education from courses in this area must be planned so as to favor the change of the attitude profile presented.