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Profiling Attitudes Toward Individuals Who Self-Harm Among Mental Health Workers in Sweden : A Cross-Sectional Study

Lantto, Reid LU orcid ; Jungert, Tomas LU ; Lindström, Sara LU ; Nilsson, Magnus LU and Westling, Sofie LU orcid (2025) In Issues in Mental Health Nursing p.1-10
Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Mental health workers' attitudes toward individuals who self-harm impact accessibility and quality of care. Previous studies have established the role of training on professionals' attitudes, with mixed findings for gender and work experience. While self-report attitudinal scales are frequently used, latent response trends across such scales are seldom considered. The present study examines mental health workers' responses across the
Self-Harm Antipathy Scale - Swedish Revised (SHAS-SR) and explores the predictive roles of various intrapersonal and contextual factors.

METHODS: On a sample of 596 mental health workers in Sweden, we employed standard multiple regression to predict outcomes on the SHAS-SR. We... (More)

INTRODUCTION: Mental health workers' attitudes toward individuals who self-harm impact accessibility and quality of care. Previous studies have established the role of training on professionals' attitudes, with mixed findings for gender and work experience. While self-report attitudinal scales are frequently used, latent response trends across such scales are seldom considered. The present study examines mental health workers' responses across the
Self-Harm Antipathy Scale - Swedish Revised (SHAS-SR) and explores the predictive roles of various intrapersonal and contextual factors.

METHODS: On a sample of 596 mental health workers in Sweden, we employed standard multiple regression to predict outcomes on the SHAS-SR. We performed latent profile analysis on SHAS-SR subscales to identify distinct attitude profiles and their predictors.

RESULTS: We identified four distinct attitude profiles:
Sympathetic,
Reluctant,
Judging, and
Antipathic. Area of work and gender predicted both wholescale scores and certain profile memberships. Working in emergency settings was associated with more negative attitudes and nearly nine times higher odds of an Antipathic rather than Sympathetic scoring pattern, compared to non-emergency workers.

CONCLUSION: Interventions to improve attitudes toward individuals who self-harm ought to be prioritized in emergency settings. The SHAS-SR scale might be used to identify target groups for health equity efforts in mental healthcare.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Issues in Mental Health Nursing
pages
1 - 10
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:105009017045
  • pmid:40554789
ISSN
1096-4673
DOI
10.1080/01612840.2025.2506475
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
83122dbb-66dd-426d-884e-3993a01e85c7
date added to LUP
2025-07-15 18:39:15
date last changed
2025-07-18 02:21:31
@article{83122dbb-66dd-426d-884e-3993a01e85c7,
  abstract     = {{<p>INTRODUCTION: Mental health workers' attitudes toward individuals who self-harm impact accessibility and quality of care. Previous studies have established the role of training on professionals' attitudes, with mixed findings for gender and work experience. While self-report attitudinal scales are frequently used, latent response trends across such scales are seldom considered. The present study examines mental health workers' responses across the<br>
 Self-Harm Antipathy Scale - Swedish Revised (SHAS-SR) and explores the predictive roles of various intrapersonal and contextual factors.<br>
 </p><p>METHODS: On a sample of 596 mental health workers in Sweden, we employed standard multiple regression to predict outcomes on the SHAS-SR. We performed latent profile analysis on SHAS-SR subscales to identify distinct attitude profiles and their predictors.</p><p>RESULTS: We identified four distinct attitude profiles: <br>
 Sympathetic, <br>
 Reluctant, <br>
 Judging, and <br>
 Antipathic. Area of work and gender predicted both wholescale scores and certain profile memberships. Working in emergency settings was associated with more negative attitudes and nearly nine times higher odds of an Antipathic rather than Sympathetic scoring pattern, compared to non-emergency workers.<br>
 </p><p>CONCLUSION: Interventions to improve attitudes toward individuals who self-harm ought to be prioritized in emergency settings. The SHAS-SR scale might be used to identify target groups for health equity efforts in mental healthcare.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lantto, Reid and Jungert, Tomas and Lindström, Sara and Nilsson, Magnus and Westling, Sofie}},
  issn         = {{1096-4673}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  pages        = {{1--10}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Issues in Mental Health Nursing}},
  title        = {{Profiling Attitudes Toward Individuals Who Self-Harm Among Mental Health Workers in Sweden : A Cross-Sectional Study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2025.2506475}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/01612840.2025.2506475}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}