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Schizophrenia Bulletin Advance Access published online on June 1, 2009
Schizophrenia Bulletin, doi:10.1093/schbul/sbp048
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Stigma Resistance in Patients With Schizophrenia

Ingrid Sibitz13, Annemarie Unger2, Andreas Woppmann2, Thomas Zidek2 and Michaela Amering2,3
2 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
3 Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Social Psychiatry, Vienna, Austria

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +43-1-40400-3546, fax: +43-1-40400-3605, e-mail: ingrid.sibitz{at}meduniwien.ac.at.

Background: An individual's capacity to counteract the stigma of mental illness, stigma resistance (SR), is considered as playing a crucial role in fighting stigma. However, little is known about SR and its correlates in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Aim: Exploring SR in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Method: One hundred fifty-seven participants completed the "Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness" (ISMI) Scale including its subscale on SR. Measures of perceived devaluation and discrimination, depression, self-esteem, empowerment, quality of life, and demographic and clinical variables were obtained. Results: Two-thirds of all patients showed high SR. SR correlated positively with self-esteem, empowerment, and quality of life and negatively with stigma measures and depression. A social network with a sufficient number of friends, being single or married, in contrast to being separated, as well as receiving outpatient treatment, was associated with higher SR. Conclusions: SR is a new and promising concept. The development of stigma-resisting beliefs might help individuals in their hope of finding a fulfilling life and in their recovery from mental illness.

Keywords: stigma / stigma resistance / quality of life / empowerment


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