[Causes and psychosocial consequences of schizophrenia: opinions of mental health personnel].
OBJECTIVE
Description of the opinions about causes and psychosocial consequences of schizophrenia in a sample of psychiatric professionals, recruited in 29 Italian Mental Health Centres (MHC).


METHODS
Each professional was asked to read a case-vignette describing a patient who met the ICD-10 criteria for schizophrenia. Referring to case-vignette, he/she was asked to fill the Questionnaire on the Opinions about Mental Illness--Professionals' version (QO-P). Professionals' opinions were explored in relation to: a) their socio-demographic variables and professional background; b) geographic location of the MHC.


METHODS
29 MHC stratified by geographic area (Northern, Central, Southern Italy) and population density of their catchment areas (> 100,000 inhabitants; between 100,000 and 25,000 inhabitants; < 25,000 inhabitants) and randomly selected.


RESULTS
Data on 465 professionals were collected. 75% of the sample identified in the vignette a case of schizophrenia, 22% of depression/anxiety disorder. Factors most frequently mentioned as causes of the detected disorder were heredity (68%), stress (61%), family difficulties (46%). More pessimistic opinions about psychosocial consequences of schizophrenia were found among nurses and among professionals of Southern Italy, among those with lower educational level, older age and among those working longer in psychiatry. No statistical difference in the opinions about psychosocial consequences of schizophrenia was found among staff who referred the case-vignette to schizophrenia and those who did not.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study outline the need to: a) include issues such as disability and psychosocial consequences of mental disorders in the basic training of professionals; b) increase the number of professionals trained in evidence-based psychosocial interventions.
Magliano
Lorenza
L
Istituto di Psichiatria, Università di Napoli SUN, Largo Madonna delle Grazie, 80138 Napoli. lorenza.magliano@unina2.it
De Rosa
Corrado
C
Guarneri
Manuela
M
Cozzolino
Pasquale
P
Malangone
Claudio
C
Marasco
Cecilia
C
Fiorillo
Andrea
A
Maj
Mario
M
D000328:Adult; D005104:Expert Testimony; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D000078329:Workforce
Cause e conseguenze psicosociali della schizofrenia: le opinioni degli operatori dei SSM.