Beliefs about mental illness in a culturally diverse nursing student population: implications for education and practice.

The effects of a psychiatric nursing curriculum on a culturally diverse nursing student population was investigated using Cohen and Streuning's factor analyzed Opinions About Mental Illness questionnaire. Statistical analysis revealed that the experimental subjects (N = 118) showed change on four out of five selected attitude dimensions. Cultural variables (ethnic group, length of time in the US and political affiliations) corresponded with mental illness attitudes. Length of time in the US had a significant effect on two factors--Authoritarianism and Stereotyping.