Fighting stigma in schools: Pre, Post, and Follow-up results of an educational intervention

Abstract

Background and Aims:The Greek Program against Stigma and Discrimination because of Mental Illness developed an educational intervention targeting high-school students, as part of a broader anti-stigma campaign. Educational interventions aiming to confront the stigma of schizophrenia are mostly effective in preventing the formation of stereotypes and prejudice against people with schizophrenia (PWS), when implemented in populations open to change, such as high school students. The study aims to evaluate: a) students’ beliefs and attitudes towards PWS and b) the effectiveness of an educational intervention in challenging stereotypical beliefs and discriminatory attitudes towards PWS.Methods:The intervention, a two-hour semi-structured educational program, entailed guided discussions and creative activities facilitating self-expression, such as collective drawing and role-playing. A survey questionnaire was administrated before and after the intervention and at a six months follow-up, in order to identify sources of information about schizophrenia, knowledge about symptoms and treatment options and students’ attitudes.Results:High-school students hold faulty beliefs about schizophrenia, are unwilling to interact with PWS, embrace stereotypic images of violence and dangerousness about PWS and draw information about schizophrenia mainly from television. The intervention was effective in challenging negative beliefs about PWS and had a significant positive effect on attitudes toward PWS, which - although weakened - remained to a considerable degree at the follow-up measure. A differential effect of students’ demographic characteristics and previous contact with PWS was also found.Conclusions:Further implementation of the educational intervention is strongly suggested, as its anti-stigma purposes have, so far, attained encouraging results.