title: Attitudes towards psychiatric treatment and people with mental illness: changes over two decades.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Over the past decades, psychiatry, as a science and a clinical discipline, has witnessed profound changes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether these changes are reflected in changes in the public's conceptualisation of mental disorders, the acceptance of mental health treatment and attitudes towards people with mental illness.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 1990 and 2011, population surveys were conducted in Germany on public attitudes about schizophrenia, depression and alcohol dependence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although the public has become more inclined to endorse a biological causation of schizophrenia, the opposite trend was observed with the other two disorders. The public's readiness to recommend help-seeking from mental health professionals and using psychotherapy and psychotropic medication has increased considerably. Attitudes towards people with schizophrenia worsened, whereas for depression and alcohol dependence no or inconsistent changes were found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The growing divide between attitudes towards schizophrenia and other mental disorders should be of particular concern to future anti-stigma campaigns.
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Mental Health, Gösing am Wagram, Austria. angermeyer@aon.at
authors.forename: Matthias C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Angermeyer
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matschinger
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schomerus
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000639:trends*; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011639:Public Opinion; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping