Stigma and its correlates in patients with schizophrenia attending a general hospital psychiatric unit

Abstract

Background:Very few studies from India have studied stigma experienced by patients with schizophrenia.Aim of the Study:To study stigma in patients with schizophrenia (in the form of internalized stigma, perceived stigma and social-participation-restriction stigma) and its relationship with specified demographic and clinical variables (demographic variables, clinical profile, level of psychopathology, knowledge about illness, and insight).Materials and Methods:Selected by purposive random sampling, 100 patients with schizophrenia in remission were evaluated on internalized stigma of mental illness scale (ISMIS), explanatory model interview catalog stigma scale, participation scale (P-scale), positive and negative syndrome scale for schizophrenia, global assessment of functioning scale, scale to assess unawareness of mental disorder, and knowledge of mental illness scale.Results:On ISMIS scale, 81% patients experienced alienation and 45% exhibited stigma resistance. Stereotype endorsement was seen in 26% patients, discrimination experience was faced by 21% patients, and only 16% patients had social withdrawal. Overall, 29% participants had internalized stigma when total ISMIS score was taken into consideration. On P-scale, 67% patients experienced significant restriction, with a majority reporting moderate to mild restriction. In terms of associations between stigma and sociodemographic variables, no consistent correlations emerged, except for those who were not on paid job, had higher participation restriction. Of the clinical variables, level of functioning was the only consistent predictor of stigma. While better knowledge about the disorder was associated with lower level of stigma, there was no association between stigma and insight.Conclusion:Significant proportion of patients with schizophrenia experience stigma and stigma is associated with lower level of functioning and better knowledge about illness is associated with lower level of stigma.

Religiosity among patients with schizophrenia: An exploratory study

“…This sociodemographic profile mimics the profile of patients attending this center and other centers from India which has focused on clinically stable patients of schizophrenia. [ 20 21 22 ] However, when compared to some of the previous studies from this center,[ 23 24 25 26 ] the proportion of married subjects in the present study were slightly higher. Paranoid schizophrenia was the most common subtype of schizophrenia, which is commensurate with the global literature[ 27 ] and previous studies from India, including those from our center.…”

Psychometric assessment of the EMIC Stigma Scale for Brazilians affected by leprosy

“…The Global leprosy strategy 2016–2020: accelerating towards a leprosy-free world [ 24 ] calls for action to reduce stigma and discrimination and to promote the inclusion of persons affected by leprosy. This study evaluates the factor structure, validity, and reliability of EMIC-SS applied to persons affected by leprosy in Brazil, making available an important tool for researchers to allow the production of information about the prevalence of social stigma in the country.…”

“…Leprosy commonly affects less favored social classes, reduces the quality of life and work capacity of the affected person. These factors may contribute to perpetuating leprosy-associated stigma [ 24 ]. Accordingly, low socioeconomic status has been associated with stigma [ 29 , 58 ].…”

“…According to the condition evaluated and the context of the application, the EMIC-SS can have between 12 [ 19 , 20 ] up to 17 items [ 21 ]. This adaptable scale has been validated in several languages to study stigmas produced by various neglected diseases and conditions, such as Buruli ulcer [ 22 ], onchocerchal skin disease [ 17 , 23 ], leishmaniasis [ 19 ], leprosy [ 21 ], tuberculosis [ 2 ], depression [ 20 ], schizophrenia [ 24 ], HIV/AIDS [ 25 ] and physical disabilities [ 21 ].…”

Knowledge, stigma, health seeking behaviour and its determinants among patients with post kalaazar dermal leishmaniasis, Bihar, India

“…This scale was adopted from the explanatory model interview catalogue (EMIC) stigma scale. It is a semi structured scale used in many other neglected tropical diseases including skin diseases like onchocercal skin disease[ 12 ], buruli ulcer[ 13 ], leprosy [ 14 , 15 ], tuberculosis [ 16 , 17 ] and many other psychological disorders [ 18 , 19 ] for assessing perceived stigma. This scale contains 12 items and each question has four options ‘no’ ‘uncertain’ ‘possibly’ ‘yes’ all questions are scored from 0 to 3, maximum obtainable score is 36 and minimum is 0.…”