Abstract
BackgroundStigma is a major issue across various society and cultures, and few studies focus on the perception of stigma by Chinese patients with schizophrenia. In the current cross-sectional study, we sought to assess the extent of internalized stigma among outpatients with schizophrenia in China and to investigate whether education level correlated with the experience of stigma.MethodsOutpatients with schizophrenia were evaluated using the brief psychosis rating scale (BPRS), the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), the clinical global impression-severity of illness (CGI-SI) scale and the Stigma Scale for Mental Illness (SSMI 2C). Patients were categorized into the high education and low education group according to their educational levels.ResultsOne hundred thirty-three subjects were included in the study. Their mean course of illness was 4.32 ± 6.14 years (range, 1 month to 15 years). Their mean BPRS score was 19.87 ± 5.46, their mean PANSS score was 44.11 ± 13.1, and their mean CGI-SI score was 2.22 ± 0.81. In addition, the mean SSMI 2C score of the high education group (7.15 ± 0.98) was markedly higher than that of the low education group (5.75 ± 0.79, P < 0.05). The mean domain I score of the high education group (2.30 ± 0.76) was comparable to that of the low education group (2.07 ± 0.78, P > 0.05). The mean domain II score of the high education group (2.42 ± 0.96) was markedly higher than that of the low education group (2.01 ± 0.79, P < 0.05). Moreover, the mean domain III score of the high education group (2.43 ± 0.79) was significantly higher than that of the low education group (1.67 ± 0.77, P < 0.05).ConclusionsEducation level impacts on the perception of stigma by patients with schizophrenia and more psycho-education should be done to improve patients’ knowledge about schizophrenia.
Highlights
Stigma is a major issue across various society and cultures, and few studies focus on the perception of stigma by Chinese patients with schizophrenia
Chen et al [3] interviewed the family members of 72 patients with severe mental illness using the Family Stigma Interview (FSI) and found stigma was pervasive in the family members, especially if their children had higher levels of education
A patient was eligible for inclusion 1) if he or she was aged between 20 and 70 years of age; 2) if he or she met the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) [14]; 3) if he or she achieved remission after therapy with antipsychotic agents as defined by disappearance of mental symptoms, recover of insight, better social functioning and a brief psychosis rating scale (BPRS) score
Summary
Stigma is a major issue across various society and cultures, and few studies focus on the perception of stigma by Chinese patients with schizophrenia. Stigma toward patients with schizophrenia in Chinese societies is pervasive, frequently resulting in internalization of these negative conceptions and loss of selfesteem. In 2005, Gao et al [4] surveyed 225 convalescent patients with schizophrenia and their family members at 3 specialty hospitals in Beijing. They found that 42 % of the patients experienced unfair treatment at jobs and 56 % of their family members hid the illness from others to avoid discrimination. Phillips et al [6] interviewed 1491 patients with schizophrenia in 5 mental illness institutions between 1990 and 2000 using the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI), 60 % of the patients and their family members felt moderate impact on their life because of stigma
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