Public beliefs about the causes of mental disorders revisited.
When the lay public is asked to prioritize their causal beliefs for a vignette depicting either schizophrenia or depression, psychosocial causes are most popular for depression, but a large proportion of respondents prefers biological causes for schizophrenia. Recognition of the vignette as mental illness enhances the likelihood to endorse brain disease as a cause and reduces choices of certain psychosocial causes.
Schomerus
Georg
G
Department of Psychiatry, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany. georg.schomerus@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
Matschinger
Herbert
H
Angermeyer
Matthias C
MC
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011639:Public Opinion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires