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Schizophrenia Bulletin Advance Access originally published online on March 1, 2006
Schizophrenia Bulletin 2006 32(4):709-714; doi:10.1093/schbul/sbj065
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Attitudes of Mental Health Professionals Toward People With Schizophrenia and Major Depression

Carlos Nordt1,2, Wulf Rössler2 and Christoph Lauber2
2 Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

1To whom correspondence should be addressed; e-mail: cnordt{at}bli.unizh.ch.

Several studies reveal poor knowledge about mental illness in the general population and stigmatizing attitudes toward people with mental illness. However, it is unknown whether mental health professionals hold fewer stigmatizing attitudes than the general population. A survey was conducted of the attitudes of mental health professionals (n = 1073) and members of the public (n = 1737) toward mental illness and their specific reaction toward a person with and without psychiatric symptoms ("non-case" as a reference category). Psychiatrists had more negative stereotypes than the general population. Mental health professionals accepted restrictions toward people with mental illness 3 times less often than the public. Most professionals were able to recognize cases of schizophrenia and depression, but 1 in 4 psychiatrists and psychologists also considered the non-case as mentally ill. The social distance toward both major depression and the non-case was lower than toward schizophrenia. However, in this regard, there was no difference between professionals and the public. The study concludes that the better knowledge of mental health professionals and their support of individual rights neither entail fewer stereotypes nor enhance the willingness to closely interact with mentally ill people.

Keywords: stigma / stereotypes / social distance / mental illness


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