Reducing stigma among college students toward people with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled trial grounded on intergroup contact theory

Abstract

Objective Public stigma has been shown to have multidimensional negative impacts on people with schizophrenia (PWS). A new one-day intervention grounded on the intergroup contact theory was developed and implemented in the current study to reduce college students’ stigma toward PWS. We hypothesized that intergroup contact could better alleviate the stigmatizing situation compared with absence of direct contact and different levels of contact may have different functions on stigma reduction. Methods To examine the effectiveness of the intervention, a randomized controlled trial was conducted in Hong Kong with 37 college students participating the intervention. Different levels of contact (zero, moderate and intimate) with PWS were organized in the intervention group while no direct contact with PWS was introduced in the control group. Participants’ knowledge of schizophrenia, stigmatizing attitudes and social distance toward PWS were measured pre-, post, 1-month and 3-month after the intervention. Results Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed significant changes in all outcome variables in the intervention group with moderate to high effect sizes. The results indicated that different levels of contact with PWS had different functions in stigma reduction. Knowledge session without direct contact contributed most to participants’ knowledge improvement, and moderate and intimate level of contact led to an obvious improvement in participants’ stigmatizing attitudes and social distance changes. Also, psychoeducation and direct contact should be combined to tackle with the three components of stigma. Conclusions The current study provided evidence supporting the efficacy of the new intervention based on intergroup contact theory and practical experience for future research design regarding stigma reduction.