[en] Background and Objectives: Stereotypes about schizophrenia may lead to prejudicial attitudes and discrimination with debilitating effects on people diagnosed with schizophrenia. There is thus a need to develop interventions aiming to prevent, reduce or eliminate such stereotypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a documentary film on schizophrenia on cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects of stigmatisation.
Methods: Forty-nine participants were assessed on measures of stereotypes and social distance, and on the Model of Stereotype Content, which includes measures of stereotypes, emotional reactions and behavioural tendencies. Participants were randomly assigned into either a condition in which they viewed the documentary film (Film group), or into a control condition in which no intervention was conducted (Control group).
Results: Only participants in the Film group revealed a significant decrease of negative stereotypes (Dangerousness and Unpredictability) and desired Social distance, and a significant increase in the perception of sociability in persons with schizophrenia.
Limitations: Small sample size and its reduced generalizability are the main limitations in this study. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a documentary film promoting indirect contact with people diagnosed with schizophrenia is a promising tool to prevent and reduce stigmatisation regarding schizophrenia.
Disciplines :
Theoretical & cognitive psychology
Author, co-author :
Thonon, Bénédicte ; Université de Liège > Département de Psychologie > Psychologie clinique cognitive et comportementale
Pletinx, Amandine
Grandjean, Allison
Billieux, Joël
Laroi, Frank ; Université de Liège > Département de Psychologie > Psychologie clinique cognitive et comportementale
Language :
English
Title :
The effects of a documentary film about schizophrenia on cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects of stigmatisation
Publication date :
January 2016
Journal title :
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
M.C. Angermeyer, and H. Matschinger The stereotype of schizophrenia and its impact on discrimination against people with schizophrenia: results from a representative survey in Germany Schizophrenia Bulletin 30 4 2004 1049 1061
S.A. Brown, Y. Evans, K. Espenschade, and M. O'Connor An examination of two brief stigma reduction strategies: filmed personal contact and hallucination simulations Community Mental Health Journal 46 5 2010 494 499
S. Clement, M. Jarrett, C. Henderson, and G. Thornicroft Messages to use in population-level campaigns to reduce mental health-related stigma: consensus development study Epidemiologia e psichiatria sociale 19 01 2010 72 79
P. Corrigan, A. Kerr, and L. Knudsen The stigma of mental illness: explanatory models and methods for change Applied & Preventive Psychology 11 3 2005 179 190
P.W. Corrigan, J. Larson, M. Sells, N. Niessen, and A.C. Watson Will filmed presentations of education and contact diminish mental illness stigma? Community Mental Health Journal 43 2 2007 171 181
A.J. Cuddy, S.T. Fiske, and P. Glick The BIAS map: behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92 4 2007 631 648
D.B. Feldman, and C.S. Crandall Dimensions of mental illness stigma: what about mental illness causes social rejection? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 26 2 2007 137 154
S.T. Fiske Warmth and competence: stereotype content issues for clinicians and researchers Canadian Psychology 53 1 2012 14 20
S.T. Fiske, A.J. Cuddy, and P. Glick Universal dimensions of social cognition: warmth and competence Trends in Cognitive Science 11 2 2007 77 83
S.T. Fiske, A.J.C. Cuddy, P. Glick, and J. Xu A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82 6 2002 878 902
F. Larøi, and M. Van der Linden The effects of a documentary film on reducing stigmatisation about schizophrenia Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches 1 1 2009 61 72
B. Link, F. Cullen, J. Frank, and J. Wozniak The social rejection of former mental patients: understanding why labels matter American Journal of Sociology 92 1987 1461 1500
P.H. Lysaker, J. Tsai, P. Yanos, and D. Roe Associations of multiple domains of self-esteem with four dimensions of stigma in schizophrenia Schizophrenia Research 98 1-3 2007 194 200
S. Overton, and S. Medina The stigma of mental illness Journal of Counseling and Development 86 2 2008 143 151
B.K. Payne, C.M. Cheng, O. Govorum, and B.-D. Stewart An inkblot for attitudes: affect misattribution as implicit measurement Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 89 3 2005 277 293
N. Rüsch, M.C. Angermeyer, and P.W. Corrigan Mental illness stigma: concepts, consequences, and initiatives to reduce stigma European Psychiatry 20 2005 529 539
V.L. Sanders Thompson, J.G. Noel, and J. Campbell Stigmatization, discrimination, and mental health: the impact of multiple identity status American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 74 4 2004 529 544
H. Schachter, A. Girardi, M. Ly, D. Lacroix, A. Lumb, J. van Berkom, and et al. Effects of school-based interventions on mental health stigmatization: a systematic review Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2 18 2008 1 14
G. Schomerus, C. Schwahn, A. Holzinger, P.W. Corrigan, H.J. Grabe, M.G. Carta, and et al. Evolution of public attitudes about mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 125 6 2012 440 452
B. Schultze, M. Richter-Werling, H. Matschinger, and M.C. Angermeyer Crazy? So what! Effects of a school project on students' attitudes towards people with schizophrenia Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 107 2003 142 150
J.-B. Steenkamp, M.G. de Jong, and H. Baumgartner Socially desirable response tendencies in survey research. Journal of Marketing Research 47 2 2010 199 214
V. Švab Stigma and mental disorders L. L'Abate, Mental illnesses - understanding, prediction and control 2012 InTech Europe Rijeka, Croatia 37 68
J. Tournois, F. Mesnil, and J.L. Kop Autoduperie et hétéroduperie: un instrument de mesure de la désirabilité sociale [Self-deception and other-deception: a social desirability questionnaire] European Review of Applied Psychology 50 2000 219 233
K. West, and R. Turner Using extended contact to improve physiological responses and behavior toward people with schizophrenia Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 50 2014 57 64
B. Whitley, and M. Kite Psychologie des préjugés et de la discrimination 2013 De Boeck Université Bruxelles