Research project to identify
Public Attitudes towards Schizophrenia
Abstract
Aims - to investigate the public’s attitudes towards people with schizophrenia in comparison to their attitudes towards people without schizophrenia and to then analyze the results with the support of other studies
Method – A short survey was conducted on 20 participants who were given a questionnaire with a short fictional case study followed by 12 statements that had to be answered on a five point Likert Scale. 10 of those questionnaire had the additional quote ‘Matthew suffers from schizophrenia’.
Findings – Looking at the median results of this study, it appears that participants did not score the person with schizophrenia much different then the one with.
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Mental health illnesses can be both short-term and long-term conditions and are split into two main groups- ‘neurotic’ and ‘psychotic’. Being neurotic includes intense varieties of normal emotions, for example anxiety and depression. Being psychotic is considered less common and is described as having symptoms which disturb the perception of reality, such as hallucinations. Mental health illnesses that present with hallucinations include schizophrenia (The Fundamental Facts,2007). In the past, mental health illnesses were not recognised as such but, instead, as demonic possession or witchcraft. People suffering from mental health illnesses would often be forcibly separated from their families and community resulting in a life of solitude. Worse yet, they were often subjected to harsh unscientific treatments and imprisoned in asylums (Student Pulse, 2015). History and the development in care with mentally ill patients like the above has changed people’s perspective and had led to a mostly negative attitude towards people with schizophrenia.
Many studies suggest that people without schizophrenia have a negative attitude/stigma towards those with schizophrenia. These studies have been carried out by different individuals, in many different countries, looking at different parts of the population and their perception of mental illnesses, in particular schizophrenia.
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All studies conclude that a certain stigma still exists and that the general public should be taught more about mental health issues.
This research was conducted with the aim to investigate the public’s attitudes towards people with schizophrenia in comparison to their attitudes towards people without schizophrenia and to then analyze the results with the support of the studies mentioned above.
As a hypothesis it would have to be stated that there will be a more negative attitude towards people with schizophrenia compared to someone without.
Method
Design – For this study an independent measures design was used where each participant has only been given one out of the two questionnaires to complete. The questionnaire, being the independent variable, was conducted on a fictional case of an individual ‘Matthew’, and was then altered for half of the participants with the statement: “Matthew suffers from schizophrenia”. The answers were collected and tabulated which was the dependent variable in this
Schizophrenia is a deteriorating progressive disease, consequently, it is resistant to treatment for the individual suffering schizophrenia. (Catts & O’Toole, 2016). In most cases the individuals suffering from schizophrenia, are resistive to treatment, in most cases, individuals suffering from schizophrenia, and are resistive in taking antipsychotics. (Catts & O’Toole, 2016). Jeremy doesn’t see himself as a “schizophrenic”, he states that “he’s happy naturally”, and often he’s observed playing the guitar and doing painting in his room. Weekly, he has an intramuscular medication to treat his disorder, crediting the support of his wife. It is indicated that the morality rate, in patients suffering from schizophrenia is higher, despite the considerable resources available, in Australia. New data show that in 20 countries, including Australia, only 13.5% meet the recovery criteria, which means that 1or 2 patients in every 100, will meet this criteria per year. (Catts & O’Toole, 2016). This means that there’s a decline in providing support and services to individuals like Jeremy suffering from a mental illness such as Schizophrenia. Many individuals become severely ill before they realise they need medical treatment, and when receiving treatment it is usually short-term. (Nielssen, McGorry, Castle & Galletly, 2017). The RANZCP guidelines highlights that
Mental illness has been around as long as people have been. However, the movement really started in the 19th century during industrialization. The Western countries saw an immense increase in the number and size of insane asylums, during what was known as “the great confinement” or the “asylum era” (Torrey, Stieber, Ezekiel, Wolfe, Sharfstein, Noble, Flynn Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill). Laws were starting to be made to pressure authorities to face the people who were deemed insane by family members and hospital administrators. Because of the overpopulation in the institutions, treatment became more impersonal and had a complex mix of mental and social-economic problems. During this time the term “psychiatry” was identified as the medical specialty for the people who had the job as asylum superintendents. These superintendents assumed managerial roles in asylums for people who were considered “alienated” from society; people with less serious conditions wer...
According to (Barlow, 2001), Schizophrenia is a psychological or mental disorder that makes the patient recognize real things and to have abnormal social behavior. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms such as confused thinking, hallucinations, false beliefs, demotivation, reduced social interaction and emotional expressions (Linkov, 2008). Diagnosis of this disorder is done through observation of patient’s behavior, and previously reported experiences (Mothersill, 2007). In this paper, therefore, my primary goal is to discuss Schizophrenia and how this condition is diagnosed and treated.
Schizophrenia has always been a disorder associated with madness (Reed, 2004). In every century, people with this disorder have been persecuted or pushed aside by society. Throughout history, it was believed an evil demon or god caused Schizophrenia (Reed, 2004). The only way to fix the strange behavior was to pray to the good god because only they could fix the problem. A perfect example of this is the Middle Ages, where there was a return to religious explanations that explained mental disorders to be caused by the devil and the only way to help the individual was by the Church. The Churches method of treatment included exorcism and even more harsh tortures if the exorcism did not work. Many people, especially women, with schizophrenia perished during these times of accusation.
Therefore, they are more likely to commit violent acts. At the University of California, Berkeley there was a study done by Andres G. Martinez, Paul K. Piff, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Stephen P. Hinshaw on how ascribed humanity affects the perceived dangerousness of people with mental illness. It concluded that once the mental illness label was placed on someone, they were ascribed less humanity (Martinez, Piff, Mendoza-Denton, & Hinshaw, 2011). The “...targets may be animalistically dehumanized, in which they are rendered animal-like in terms of lacking such uniquely human qualities of constraint, complex emotional capacities, and refinement” (Martinez et al.). Stigma could be the reason that a majority of the public believes
Schizophrenia is a severe incurable brain disorder that oppresses many today. Schizophrenia affects more than 2 million Americans. It is one of the most feared and misunderstood of all mental illnesses. So with this illness there are many questions. What is the meaning of schizophrenia, how is it diagnosed and how is it treated? With it being the most feared and misunderstood of all mental illnesses what are some stereotypes and fears out there about those with schizophrenia? How do those with the illness and the family members feel about law enforcement and what are their needs when it comes to those in law enforcement? What is being done now in law enforcement to help ones who have this illness?
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. “Schizophrenia”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.
Schizophrenia can be described by a wide-ranging spectrum of emotional and cognitive dysfunctions. These can include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behavior, as well as inappropriate emotions. Consequently, this disease can affect people from all walks of life. Since schizophrenia is such a complex disorder it can ultimately affect a person’s entire existence and their struggle to function daily. With a chronic disease like this, most people have a difficult time functioning in society. This can make it hard for someone who is schizophrenic to relate to others as well as maintain significant relationships. Life expectancy for those who suffer this illness tend to be shorter than average. This is due to the higher rate of accident and suicide. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be broken down into different categories: positive, negative and disorganized. Positive symptoms include hallucinations and delusions. These tend to be the more obvious signs of psychosis. On the other hand negative symptoms indicate deficits or absence of normal behavior which can affect sp...
The two different types of stigma have different effects on the attitude towards those with mental health issues. The public stigma can lead to discrimination and prejudice. The prejudice and discrimination that result from the public stigma can prevent those diag...
...ic Attitudes, Personal Needs: A Survey on Schizophrenia by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Thomicroft, G., Brohan, E., Rose, D., Sartorius, N., & Leese, M. (2009). Global pattern of experienced and anticipated discrimination against people with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional survey. The Lancet, 373(9661), 408-415. Retrieved June 14, 2010, from
In the article Issues and Controversies says, "Throughout most of human history, people with mental illness were ostracized, isolated, and persecuted." ( Infobase,1) This belief system can give causation of mental illness in different cultures and such influences in a community will always be in a negative manner. Various societies struggle with the notion of mental health. The standards of every culture believe to be considered normal, natural, or healthy. These views lead to disagreements about the causes, diagnosis, and the treatment of the disorders. Many people with mental problems are discriminated against because of their mental disorder. Mental illness and stigma refers to the view of the person with mental illness as having undesirable traits. Stigma leads to negative behavior, stereotyping, and discriminatory behavior towards the person with mental health issues. This stigma causes the affected person to experience denial or shame of their condition. Perceived stigma can result in the patient being scared to seek help. Stigma can be divided into two perspectives, public and self stigma. Upadhyay says, "Public stigma occurs when the general
Why is there a cloud of judgment and misunderstanding still surrounding the subject? People with a mental disorder or with a history of mental health issues are continually ostracized by society. This results in it being more difficult than it already is for the mentally ill to admit their symptoms to others and to seek treatment. To towards understanding mental illness is to finally lift the stigma, and to finally let sufferers feel safe and accepted within today’s society. There are many ways in which the mentally ill are degraded and shamed.
The stigma is created by the lack of knowledge, narrow-minded attitudes, and the acts of judgment against people who have a mental illness. The stigma results in extensive consequences for the individuals being affected. The stigma ends up becoming worse than the mental illness itself because it prevents individuals from seeking help during the early stages of the mental illness. There is even a vast availability of mental-health treatments that are effective, yet the majority of people experiencing problems related to mental-health does not seek help. 28% of the adult population of the United States have a diagnosable mental condition and only 8% seek treatment. These statistics help prove that stigma is one of the main reasons for individuals not willing to seek help. The individual fears being stigmatized. They fear being rejected by their loved ones and the general public. They do not want to be devalued. The way that individuals with mental illnesses are called “the mentally ill” in the media just makes the stigma even worse. This makes the person feel defined solely by their disability, which is inhumane. The person begins to feel less of a human being. In the media, they are viewed as being dangerous and violent, which results with inhumanity towards the individual. This just increases the negative stereotypes towards individuals with a mental
If there are 40 students in the classroom, at least two of them could be living with serious mental illness. Although mental illness is something that is familiar to us, there is still misunderstood and stigma towards mental illness. Then why do many people still have wrong knowledge and attitude toward mental illness? There are many sources of the stigma, but one of the main sources is people’s ignorance toward mental illness.