Public stigma towards patients with schizophrenia of ethnic Malay: a comparison between the general public and patients' relatives.
BACKGROUND
The stigma attached to mental disorders has been recognized as a major concern in healthcare services across societies.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the stigmatizing attitude towards patients with schizophrenia between the general public, relatives of patient with schizophrenia and relatives of patient with neurotic illnesses.


METHODS
The study sample of 600 subjects of Malay families was equally divided into three groups. The sample was selected using convenience sampling. Each subject completed a seven-item Social Distance Scale (SDS) and a six-item stereotypical beliefs (SB) scale of people with schizophrenia. Appropriate statistical analysis was then conducted to compare the differences in SDS and SB scores between the groups.


RESULTS
The scores of both SD and SB were consistent with each other, which reflected that far social distance and more negative attitudes were strongly adopted by the general public. There were significant differences in the total and most of the individual item scores of the SDS and the SB between the general public and the two relatives groups. However, the difference in the SDS scores between the relatives of patient with schizophrenia and neurotic illnesses was not significant. Among the socio-demographic factors, educational status had a stronger influenced on stigma than age and sex.


CONCLUSIONS
The stigma towards patients with schizophrenia among the Malay community was strong. Individuals who had been exposed to patient with schizophrenia or neurotic illnesses tended to have better perceptions towards schizophrenia than the general public. The contact that promotes familiarity with mental illness, which may diminish prejudicial attitudes, attributed to the improvement.
Discipline of Psychiatry & Behaviour Medicine and.
Salleh Mohd
SM
Razali
Zaliha
Z
Ismail
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000075384:Neuroticism; D011639:Public Opinion; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping
Malay; neuroses; schizophrenia; social distance; stereotypical beliefs; stigma