Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: II. The impact of information on dangerousness.

This study addressed a relatively neglected topic in schizophrenia: identifying methods to reduce stigma directed toward individuals with this disorder. The study investigated whether presentation of information describing the association between violent behavior and schizophrenia could affect subjects' impressions of the dangerousness of both a target person with schizophrenia and individuals with mental illness in general. Subjects with and without previous contact with individuals with a mental illness were administered one of four "information sheets" with varying information about schizophrenia and its association with violent behavior. Subjects then read a brief vignette of a male or female target individual with schizophrenia. Results showed that subjects who reported previous contact with individuals with a mental illness rated the male target individual and individuals with mental illness in general as less dangerous than did subjects without previous contact. Subjects who received information summarizing the prevalence rates of violent behavior among individuals with schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders (e.g., substance abuse) rated individuals with a mental illness as less dangerous than did subjects who did not receive this information. Implications of the findings for public education are discussed.

[1]  Eliot R. Smith,et al.  Exemplar and Prototype Use in Social Categorization , 1990 .

[2]  R. Tarter,et al.  Substance Abuse, Aggression, and Violence: What Are the Connections ?: Clinical Update , 1993 .

[3]  O. Wahl,et al.  Impact of a newspaper article on attitudes toward mental illness , 1996 .

[4]  M. Angermeyer,et al.  Social distance towards the mentally ill: results of representative surveys in the Federal Republic of Germany , 1997, Psychological Medicine.

[5]  O. Wahl,et al.  Impact of a television film on attitudes toward mental illness , 1989, American journal of community psychology.

[6]  D. Watson,et al.  Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. , 1991, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[7]  J. Fisher,et al.  Consequences of beliefs about the nature of mental disorders. , 1979, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[8]  J. Greenley.  Social factors, mental illness, and psychiatric care: recent advances from a sociological perspective. , 1984, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[9]  D. Lewis,et al.  State psychiatric hospital patients with past arrests for violent crimes. , 1995, Psychiatric services.

[10]  A. Farina,et al.  People's reactions to a former mental patient moving to their neighborhood , 1974 .

[11]  E. Mulvey.  Assessing the evidence of a link between mental illness and violence. , 1994, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[12]  J. Volavka,et al.  Characteristics of state hospital patients arrested for offenses committed during hospitalization. , 1995, Psychiatric services.

[13]  M. Sherif,et al.  The psychology of attitudes. , 1946, Psychological review.

[14]  Bruce G. Link,et al.  Contact with the mentally ill and perceptions of how dangerous they are. , 1986, Journal of health and social behavior.

[15]  Bruce G. Link,et al.  Psychotic Symptoms and the Violent/Illegal Behavior of Mental Patients Compared to Community Controls , 1994 .

[16]  T. Feldmann,et al.  Crisis debriefing of a jury after a murder trial. , 1991, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[17]  T. Kosten,et al.  Dual diagnoses: substance abuse and personality disorders. , 1990, New directions for mental health services.

[18]  H. Steadman.  Critically reassessing the accuracy of public perceptions of the dangerousness of the mentally ill. , 1981, Journal of health and social behavior.

[19]  J. Tiihonen,et al.  Schizophrenia and homicidal behavior. , 1996, Schizophrenia bulletin.

[20]  J. Vejnoska,et al.  ALCOHOL HEALTH AND RESEARCH WORLD , 1983 .

[21]  C. Bell.  DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , 1994 .

[22]  Bruce G. Link,et al.  The violent and illegal behavior of mental patients reconsidered. , 1992 .

[23]  S. Mednick,et al.  Mental disorder and crime. Evidence from a Danish birth cohort. , 1996, Archives of general psychiatry.

[24]  A. Tversky,et al.  The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. , 1981, Science.

[25]  R. Felner,et al.  Employment interviewer reactions to former mental patients. , 1973, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[26]  M. Kushner,et al.  Epidemiology of substance use disorders among persons with chronic mental illnesses. , 1995 .

[27]  C. J. Huberty,et al.  Multivariate analysis versus multiple univariate analyses. , 1989 .

[28]  James Frank,et al.  The Social Rejection of Former Mental Patients: Understanding Why Labels Matter , 1987, American Journal of Sociology.

[29]  J. Swanson,et al.  Violence and psychiatric disorder in the community: evidence from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area surveys. , 1990, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[30]  C. Holzer,et al.  Violence and ECA data. , 1991, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[31]  O. Wahl.  Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness , 1995 .

[32]  G. Woody,et al.  Antisocial personality disorder in patients with substance abuse disorders: a problematic diagnosis? , 1990, The American journal of psychiatry.

[33]  John Monahan,et al.  Violence and mental disorder: Developments in risk assessment. , 1994 .

[34]  D. Penn,et al.  Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: what sort of information is best? , 1994, Schizophrenia bulletin.

[35]  J. Fisher,et al.  Some consequences of changing people's views regarding the nature of mental illness. , 1978, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[36]  L. Ozarin.  CLOSED RANKS—An Experiment. in Mental Health Education By Elaine Cumming and John Cumming. Published for the Commonwealth Fund by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. $6.50 , 1958 .

[37]  J. Monahan.  Mental disorder and violent behavior. Perceptions and evidence. , 1992, The American psychologist.

[38]  G. Domino.  Impact of the Film, “One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest,” on Attitudes towards Mental Illness , 1983, Psychological reports.

[39]  P. Marzuk.  Violence, crime, and mental illness. How strong a link? , 1996, Archives of general psychiatry.

[40]  Bruce G. Link,et al.  A modified labeling theory approach to mental disorders : an empirical assessment , 1989 .

[41]  E. Mulvey,et al.  The accuracy of predictions of violence to others. , 1993, JAMA.

[42]  A. Tversky,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases , 1974, Science.

[43]  A. Farina.  Are women nicer people than men? Sex and the stigma of mental disorders , 1981 .

[44]  S. Davis,et al.  Violence by psychiatric inpatients: a review. , 1991, Hospital & community psychiatry.

[45]  L. Teplin,et al.  Does psychiatric disorder predict violent crime among released jail detainees? A six-year longitudinal study. , 1994, The American psychologist.

[46]  Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness , 1997 .

[47]  J. Leff,et al.  Community Attitudes to Mental Illness , 1996, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[48]  J. Monahan,et al.  Schizophrenia as a contingent risk factor for criminal violence. , 1992, International journal of law and psychiatry.

[49]  J. Strauss,et al.  Psychological and Social Aspects of Negative Symptoms , 1989, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[50]  E. Torrey.  Violent behavior by individuals with serious mental illness. , 1994, Hospital & community psychiatry.