Public and mental health professionals' attitudes towards psychosis risk syndrome

Abstract

Aim: There has been a move in psychosis research towards identifying and providing early intervention for individuals who are at risk of developing psychosis in hope of preventing its onset. 'Psychosis risk syndrome has been proposed as a separate diagnosis in the DSM V, but it was not included due to various concerns. Controversy remains about the social implications, in particular, stigma. We designed a cross-sectional survey designed to explore stigma towards people at risk of psychosis from public and mental health professionals perspectives in Hong Kong. Methods: Four vignettes depicting characters suffering from prodrome, schizophrenia, depression and psychotic-like-experiences were presented and participants were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire to assess seven aspects of stigma. Results: Overall, the stigma associated with prodrome is less than with schizophrenia but higher than with depression or psychotic-like-experiences. Stigma was associated with gender, age, education level, occupation and previous visit to mental hospital. Conclusions: The study explored the potential stigma associated with the diagnosis of prodrome in comparison with other mental conditions in Chinese population. Cultural difference in stigma in Asia is an important issue that needs to be addressed in clinical services and research in patients with prodrome.