Perceived Etiology Influences Attitudes Toward Schizophrenia

Previous research has found contradictory effects of cause of mental illness on negative attitudes and social stigma; some find that knowing the cause increases negative attitudes (e.g., Boysen & Gabreski, 2012), whereas some... [ view full abstract ]

Previous research has found contradictory effects of cause of mental illness on negative attitudes and social stigma; some find that knowing the cause increases negative attitudes (e.g., Boysen & Gabreski, 2012), whereas some find that it does not (e.g. Breheny, 2007). The goal of the current study was to evaluate whether knowing the cause of schizophrenia affected the attitudes held towards people with schizophrenia. Forty Adrian College General Psychology students were randomly assigned to read vignettes about people with schizophrenia with either genetic, environmental, or no explanation of cause. They then completed an attitudes toward mental illness scale which measured authoritarianism, social restrictiveness, benevolence, and community mental health ideology.  It was hypothesized that 1) A genetic explanation would increase authoritarianism and social restrictiveness and decrease benevolence and community mental health ideology, and 2) An environmental explanation would lead to more negative and fewer positive attitudes than no explanation. There was no effect of cause of schizophrenia on authoritarianism, benevolence, social restrictiveness, and community mental health ideology. Generally, participants were not authoritarian or socially restrictive; rather, they felt benevolent and held more positive community mental health ideologies. It is possible that today's young adults hold more positive attitudes towards people with mental illness.