Attitude to and social distance from schizophrenic patients as forms of stigmatization, investigated by a group of medical professionals and a group of non-professional subjects

Abstract

Introduction

The attitude to schizophrenic patients has always been considered a significant indicator of stigmatization of mental patients. The social aspect of stigmatization involves the social distance when speaking about the attitudes towards mental patients. The social distance is defined as “a various degree of understanding and feelings existing among the groups”.

Objectives

The investigation included 120 participants divided into two groups. The first group included 60 participants; psychiatrists (38) directly involved in treating schizophrenia and 28 nurses working in wards where schizophrenic patients were treated. The second group of 60 participants included non-professionals divided according to age and gender to match the experiment group.

Aims

Investigating the correlation between the proclaimed attitudes to and social distance from schizophrenic patients: medical professionals and non-professional subjects.

Methods

Semantic differential scale was used to examine the personal attitudes towards a stigmatized group. To examine social distance, the modified Bogardus Social was used.

Results

The results obtained using the Semantic differential scale to examine the attitudes did not show statistically significant score difference between the two groups of patients Bogardus Social Distance Scale score showed statistically significant difference (P > 0.03). A significant score on the scale of social distance can be recognized in both psychiatry professionals and non-professionals.

Conclusion

Stratification of items on the social distance scale shows a great social distance in the sphere of intimacy and slightly lower score on the level of social relations. The group having competent knowledge concerning the disease shows sophisticated way of hiding behind professional reasons.

Disclosure of Interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.