title: Stigma toward schizophrenia among parents of high school students.
abstract: Stigma toward schizophrenia is an important area of research as it is frequently a barrier to early intervention. This study attempted to identify factors underlying stigma in Japan. Because even adolescents can develop schizophrenia, 357 Japanese parents of high school students were enrolled. All parents lived outside the areas affected by the Tohoku earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 (ie, parts of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures). Factor analysis using the Link Devaluation-Discrimination Measure identified two factors: comparison with an able-bodied person and non-comparison with an able-bodied person. Regression analysis revealed that family structure had independent effects on factor 2 (p <0.05), and ANOVA showed that education had independent effects on factor 2 (p<0.05). These results suggest that education programs that seek to counteract stigma should target curricula in high schools and vocational schools.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku University. hatsumi@med.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hatsumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshii
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Atiqul Haq
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Mazumder
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Kouhei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akazawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia; D057545:Social Stigma; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors