Teachers' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes concerning schizophrenia- a cross-cultural approach in Japan and Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
Mental health literacy of the general public is essential for the effective promotion of society's mental health. However, there has been no investigation of the general public's mental health literacy with Japanese and Taiwanese socio-cultural backgrounds.


METHODS
A total of 129 Japanese and 150 Taiwanese elementary school teachers were surveyed about knowledge, beliefs and attitudes concerning schizophrenia by means of a questionnaire with a vignette describing a case of the disease. Identification of the case, cause of the disease, coping behavior for the case, and perception of stigmatizing and supporting attitudes by parents and neighbors of the case were investigated.


RESULTS
As a common finding with the studies in Western countries, only small percentages of the Japanese and Taiwanese respondents were able to make a correct identification. A further common finding was the emphasis on psychosocial factors as a cause of schizophrenia, as was the rejection of psychotropic medication, although future study is required to determine to what extent the respondents know about therapeutic procedures utilized by psychiatrists. Significantly stronger stigma perception was shown in the Japanese respondents than in the Taiwanese, which may be attributable to the high institutionalization rate in Japan.


CONCLUSIONS
Japanese and Taiwanese teachers' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes regarding schizophrenia were similar to those found in the general public in Western societies. Although the present study is limited in sampling and the components of the mental health literacy investigated, several working hypotheses have been extracted from it to be tested in future investigations on the Japanese and Taiwanese and other Asian general public's mental health literacy.
Kurumatani
Takahiro
T
Osaka Juvenile Classification Home, Osaka, Japan.
Ukawa
Ko
K
Kawaguchi
Yoshichika
Y
Miyata
Saori
S
Suzuki
Manami
M
Ide
Hiroshi
H
Seki
Wataru
W
Chikamori
Eiko
E
Hwu
Hai-Gwo
HG
Liao
Shih-Cheng
SC
Edwards
Glen D
GD
Shinfuku
Naotaka
N
Uemoto
Masaharu
M
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004190:Disasters; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D012574:Schools; D012944:Social Support; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013624:Taiwan