Refuting the Myth of the “Violent Schizophrenic”: Assessing an Educational Intervention to Reduce Schizophrenia Stigmatization Using Self-Report and an Implicit Association Test

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine whether an educational intervention designed to reduce stigmatization of individuals with schizophrenia improves implicit attitudes, in addition to the improvements in explicit attitudes that have been demonstrated in past research. Participants were 94 undergraduate students randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the experimental group received education about low rates of violence in individuals with schizophrenia; the control group read facts unrelated to mental health. Participants completed an Implicit Attitudes Test measuring unconscious attitudes about schizophrenia and violence before and after reading their assigned information; participants then reported the social distance they desired from individuals with schizophrenia. The intervention improved explicit but not implicit attitudes about schizophrenia, suggesting that educational interventions may not be sufficient to improve the lives of people with schizophrenia by reducing stigmatization against them.

KEYWORDS:

• educational interventions
• explicit attitudes
• implicit attitudes
• social distance

Notes

¹ Power analyses indicated that there was limited power (<.41) to detect very small effects but adequate power to detect moderate to large effects (>.70).