Purpose: Social workers are the largest direct service providers for people with schizophrenia (PWS) in communities, yet research on reducing stigma toward PWS has overlooked this group. To elucidate the stigma toward PWS therein, this study was conducted. Method: MSW students in the mainland of China were assigned to the intervention group or control group. Three levels of contact—knowledge education, at-home interviews, and services—were organized in the intervention group, whereas the control group received no contact. Participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and intended behavior were measured at three time points. Results: The intervention group's knowledge (p< .01), authoritarian attitude (p< .01), benevolent attitude (p< .01), community mental health ideology (p< .01), and intended behavior (p< .01) improved, compared to the control group. Discussion: Contact in communities can reduce the stigma toward PWS among social workers. Interactive contact in particular can reduce the stigma.
AngermeyerM. C.MatschingerH. (2003). Public beliefs about schizophrenia and depression: Similarities and differences. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38(9), 526–534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-003-0676-6
2.
ChanJ. Y. N.MakW. W. S.LawL. S. C. (2009). Combining education and video-based contact to reduce stigma of mental illness: “The Same or Not the Same” anti-stigma program for secondary schools in Hong Kong. Social Science & Medicine, 68(8), 1521–1526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.02.016
3.
ChavulakJ.SmythT.SutcliffeN.PetrakisM. (2023). Staff perspectives in mental health research regarding restrictive interventions: An Australian scoping review and thematic analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 14(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14010009
4.
CorriganP. W.MorrisS. B.MichaelsP. J.RafaczJ. D.RüschN. (2012). Challenging the public stigma of mental illness: A meta-analysis of outcome studies. Psychiatric Services, 63(10), 963–973. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100529
5.
CorriganP. W.PennD. L. (1999). Lessons from social psychology on discrediting psychiatric stigma. The American Psychologist, 54(9), 765–776. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.9.765
6.
CorriganP. W.RowanD.GreenA.LundinR.RiverP.Uphoff-WasowskiK.WhiteK.KubiakM. A. (2002). Challenging two mental illness stigmas: Personal responsibility and dangerousness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 28(2), 293–309. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a006939
7.
CorriganP. W.WatsonA. C. (2002). The paradox of self-stigma and mental illness. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9(1), 35–53. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/9.1.35
8.
DubreucqJ.PlasseJ.FranckN. (2021). Self-stigma in serious mental illness: A systematic review of frequency, correlates, and consequences. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 47(5), 1261–1287. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbaa181
9.
EackS. M.NewhillC. E. (2008a). An investigation of the relations between student knowledge, personal contact, and attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia. Journal of Social Work Education, 44(3), 77–95. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2008.200700009
10.
EackS. M.NewhillC. E. (2008b). What influences social workers’ attitudes toward working with clients with severe mental illness?Families in Society, 89(3), 418–427. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.3767
11.
EackS. M.NewhillC. E.WatsonA. C. (2012). Effects of severe mental illness education on MSW student attitudes about schizophrenia. Journal of Social Work Education, 48(3), 425–438. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2012.201000042
12.
EksteenH. C.BeckerP. J.LippiG. (2017). Stigmatization toward the mentally ill: Perceptions of psychiatrists, pre-clinical and post-clinical rotation medical students. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 63(8), 782–791. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764017735865
13.
FujiiT.HanyaM.MurotaniK.KameiH. (2021). Scale development and an educational program to reduce the stigma of schizophrenia among community pharmacists: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry, 21(1), 211. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03208-z
14.
GaoS.NgS. M. (2021). Reducing stigma among college students toward people with schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial grounded on intergroup contact theory. Schizophrenia Bulletin Open, 2(1), sgab008. https://doi.org/10.1093/schizbullopen/sgab008
15.
GilmoreL.HughesB. (2021). Perceptions of schizophrenia in the Australian community: 2005-2017. Journal of Mental Health, 30(4), 440–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2019.1630720
InanF. S.GünüsenN.DumanZ.ErtemM. Y. (2019). The impact of mental health nursing module, clinical practice and an anti-stigma program on nursing students’ attitudes toward mental illness: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Professional Nursing, 35(3), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2018.10.001
18.
KosylukK. A.Al-KhoujaM.BinkA.BuchholzB.EllefsonS.FokuoK.GoldbergD.KrausD.LeonA.MichaelsP.PowellK.SchmidtA.CorriganP. W. (2016). Challenging the stigma of mental illness among college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(3), 325–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.05.005
19.
MorrisB.SmithF. L.PetrakisM.LueJ.WhitakerL. (2024). Preparing social work graduates to support transformative engagement with mental health systems. In The Routledge International handbook of social work teaching (pp. 253–272). Routledge.
20.
NguyenE.ChenT. F.O'ReillyC. L. (2012). Evaluating the impact of direct and indirect contact on the mental health stigma of pharmacy students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47(7), 1087–1098. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0413-5
21.
NuñoL.GuileraG.SolomonP.RojoE.Gomez-BenitoJ.BarriosM. (2021). The perspective of social workers on functioning for individuals with schizophrenia: A Delphi study. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 12(3), 591–617. https://doi.org/10.1086/715893
22.
O'ConnellM. J.SteinC. H. (2011). The relationship between case manager expectations and outcomes of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia. Community Mental Health Journal, 47(4), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-010-9337-x
23.
PapishA.KassamA.ModgillG.VazG.ZanussiL.PattenS. (2013). Reducing the stigma of mental illness in undergraduate medical education: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Medical Education, 13, 141. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-13-141
24.
PattenS. B.RemillardA.PhillipsL.ModgillG.SzetoA. C. H.KassamA.GardnerD. M. (2012). Effectiveness of contact-based education for reducing mental illness-related stigma in pharmacy students. BMC Medical Education, 12, 120. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-12-120
25.
PennD. L.GuynanK.DailyT.SpauldingW. D.GarbinC. P.SullivanM. (1994). Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: What sort of information is best?Schizophrenia Bulletin, 20(3), 567–578. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/20.3.567
SaxenaS.SetoyaY. (2014). World Health Organization's comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2020. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 68(8), 585–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12207
28.
ScheyettA.KimM. (2004). Can we talk? Using facilitated dialogue to positively change student attitudes toward persons with mental illness. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 24(1–2), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1300/J067v24n01_03
29.
SevignyR.YangW.ZhangP.MarleauJ. D. (1999). Attitudes toward the mentally ill in a sample of professionals working in a psychiatric hospital in Beijing (China). The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 45(1), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/002076409904500106
StuartH.Arboleda-FlórezJ. (2001). Community attitudes toward people with schizophrenia. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 46(3), 245–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370104600304
32.
TaylorS. M.DearM. J. (1981). Scaling community attitudes toward the mentally ill. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 7(2), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/7.2.225
33.
TaylorS. M.DearM. J.HallG. B. (1979). Attitudes toward the mentally ill and reactions to mental health facilities. Social Science & Medicine. Medical Geography, 13D(4), 281–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-8002(79)90051-0
34.
WaltersC.McDonaldE.SheersC.HawkinsK.SolichH.AndersonJ.SimicN.MooreD.StevensonT.LawnS.GoodyearM.MaghidmanM.PetrakisM. (2024). Knowledge families hold: Co-production and co-research with mental health family carers in understanding experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Expectations, 27(6), e70093. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70093
35.
WarkC.GalliherJ. F. (2007). Emory Bogardus and the origins of the social distance scale. The American Sociologist, 38(4), 383–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-007-9023-9
36.
WhitakerL.SmithF.PetrakisM.BrophyL. (2022). Teaching mental health social work: What are we preparing students for?Australian Social Work, 76(4), 428–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2022.2055483
WrightE. R.GronfeinW. P.OwensT. J. (2000). Deinstitutionalization, social rejection, and the self-esteem of former mental patients. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(1), 68–90. https://doi.org/10.2307/2676361
39.
ZhangW. F.HendersonC.MagnusdottirE.ChenW. R.MaN.MaH.ThornicroftG. (2022). Effect of a contact-based education intervention on reducing stigma among community health and care staff in Beijing, China: Pilot randomized controlled study. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 73, 103096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103096
40.
ZhengS. S.ZhangH.ZhangM. H.LiX.ChangK.YangF. C. (2022). “Why I stay in community psychiatric rehabilitation”: A semi-structured survey in persons with schizophrenia. BMC Psychiatry, 10(1), 213. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00919-0
