Background: This study was the first national survey ever conducted in Greece aiming to monitor the level of stigma Greeks hold against people with schizophrenia (PWS).
Aim: To investigate sources, degree of knowledge and attitudes towards PWS in Greece.
Method: A cross-sectional nationwide survey was conducted by face-to-face household interviews ( n = 1,199, aged 15 years and over).
Results: Television was the main source of information (65.9%). Negative portrayals of PWS were recalled by 60.5%. Only 27.7% attributed schizophrenia to a combination of psychosocial, genetic and environmental factors. Respondents believed that PWS are dangerous (74.6%), have split personalities (81.3%) and cannot work (83.2%). Regarding attitudes, a negative relationship between closeness and social distance was observed. Most respondents (92.1%) would not marry someone with schizophrenia, half (50.5%) would be disturbed by working with PWS and one third (32.9%) would feel afraid to start a conversation. Urban residence and higher education were generally associated with better knowledge and more positive attitudes towards PWS.
Conclusions: Knowledge about schizophrenia in Greece is poor. The Greek public has stigmatizing attitudes towards PWS. Educational interventions should especially target rural and semi-urban residents of a lower educational level. The role of television can be crucial.
Angermeyer, M.C. & Dietrich, S. (2006) Public beliefs about and attitudes towards people with mental illness: a review of population studies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 113, 163-179.
2.
Barnett, V. (1991) Sample Survey Principles and Methods. London: Arnold.
3.
Bogardus, E.M. (1925) Measuring social distance. Journal of Applied Sociology, 9, 299-308.
4.
Cohen, J. & Struening, E.L. (1962) Opinions about mental illness in the personnel of two large mental hospitals. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 64, 349-360.
5.
Corrigan, P.W. & Penn, D. (1999) Lessons from social psychology on discrediting psychiatric stigma. The American Psychologist, 5, 765-776.
6.
Dubey, A. (1999) Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: a global campaign launches in Canada. Journal of Addiction and Mental Health, 2, 8.
7.
Gaebel, W., Baumann, A., Witte, A.M. & Zaeske, H. (2002) Public attitudes towards people with mental illness in six German cities. Results of a public survey under special consideration of schizophrenia. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 252, 278-287.
8.
Hillert, A., Sandmann, J., Ehmig, S.C., Weisbecker, H., Kepplinger, H.M. & Benkert, O. (1999) The general public's cognitive and emotional perception of mental illnesses: an alternative to attitude research. In The Image of Madness (eds J. Guimün, W. Fischer & N. Sartorius ). Basel: Karger.
9.
Kadri, N. (2005) Schizophrenia and stigma: A transcultural perspective . In Perspectives on the Stigma of Mental Illness (eds A. Okasha & C.N. Stefanis ). Geneva: World Psychiatric Association.
Madianos, M.G., Economou, M., Hatjiandreou, M., Papageorgiou, A. & Rogakou, E. (1999) Changes in public attitudes towards mental illness in the Athens area. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 99, 73-78.
12.
Madianos, M., Madianou, D., Vlachonikolis, J. & Stefanis, C. (1987a) Attitudes towards mental illness in the Athens area: implications for community mental health intervention. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 75, 158-165.
13.
Madianos, M., Stefanis, C. & Madianou, D. (1987b) Prevalence of mental disorders and utilization of mental health services in two areas of Greater Athens. In Psychiatric Epidemiology: Progress and Prospects (ed. B. Cooper). London: Croom Helm .
14.
Malla, A. & Shaw, T. (1987) Attitudes towards mental illness: the influence of education and experience. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 33, 33-41.
Owen, C.A., Eisner, H.C. & Mcfaul, T.R. (1981) A half-century of social distance research: National replication of the Bogardus studies. Sociology and Social Research, 66, 80-98.
17.
Philo, G. (1996) Media and Mental Distress. London: Longman.
18.
Sartorius, N. (1997) Fighting schizophrenia and its stigma: A new World Psychiatric Association educational programme. British Journal of Psychiatry, 170, 297.
19.
Sartorius, N. (2004) Diminishing the stigma of schizophrenia. Advances in Schizophrenia and Clinical Psychiatry, 1, 50-54.
20.
Shain, R.E. & Phillips, J. (1991) The stigma of mental illness: Labelling and stereotyping in the news. In Risky Business: Communicating Issues of Science, Risk and Public Policy (eds L. Wilkins & P. Patterson). Westport : Greenwood Press.
21.
Stuart, H. & Arboleda-Florez, J. (2001) Community attitudes toward people with schizophrenia. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 46, 245-252.
22.
Stuart, H. (2003) Stigma and the daily news: Evaluation of a newspaper intervention. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 651-656.
23.
Stuart, H. (2005) Fighting stigma and discrimination is fighting for mental health. Canadian Public Policy, 31 (Supplement), S21-S28.
24.
Thompson, A.H., Stuart, H., Bland, R.C., Arboleda-Florez, J., Warner, R. & Dickson, R.A. (2002) Attitudes about schizophrenia from the pilot of the WPA worldwide campaign against the stigma of schizophrenia. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 37, 475-482.
25.
Wahl, O.F. (1992) Mass media images of mental illness: a review of the literature. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 343-352.
26.
Warner, R. (1974) Recovery from Schizophrenia: Psychiatry and Political Economy. London: Routledge.
27.
World Psychiatric Association (1998) Fighting Stigma and Discrimination Because of Schizophrenia. New York: World Psychiatric Association .
