title: Impact of changing the Japanese term for "schizophrenia" for reasons of stereotypical beliefs of schizophrenia in Japanese youth.
abstract: The old term for schizophrenia, "Seishin-Bunretsu-Byo" (Mind-Split Disease), has been replaced by "Togo-Shitcho-Sho" (Integration Disorder) in Japan. Stigma research requiring individuals to report personal beliefs is useful but is subject to social desirability bias. Using the Implicit Association Test, a measurement designed to minimize this bias, we assessed the impact of this renaming on the stereotype of schizophrenia held by a younger generation. The old term was strongly associated with "criminal", and this association became significantly weaker with the new term. The strategy of renaming holds considerable promise for tempering negative bias toward this disorder in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Neuroimaging, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan. hidehiko@nirs.go.jp
authors.forename: Hidehiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ideno
authors.forename: Shigetaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takemura
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Motoichiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okubo
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011584:Psychology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D055815:Young Adult