Publication details
Mýty o schizofrenii pohledem vysokoškolských studentů
| Title in English | University Students and Myths About Schizophrenia |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Česká a slovenská psychiatrie |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.cspsychiatr.cz/detail.php?stat=1539 |
| Keywords | schizophrenia; stigma; self-stigma; media |
| Description | Not only is schizophrenia a mental illness which is very serious and very difficult to manage, but it is also the most stigmatised mental disorder in society and is surrounded by many myths. Schizophrenia stigmatisation is an important societal problem that significantly reduces the patients´ life quality. This research aimed to map the degree of agreement with myths about schizophrenia among university students and examine the influences of gender, the field of study and sources of information about the disorder. The research was carried out quantitatively on a group of 1,429 university students, mostly aged 20-30, with majority of women (71.7%). Respondents completed an online inventory containing 15 selected myths about schizophrenia. On a five-point scale ("strongly disagree", "somewhat disagree", "don´t know", "somewhat agree", "strongly agree") they answered to what extent they agreed with the given statements. Data were processed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test. In order to explore the relationships between the items, a factor analysis was conducted using the method of principal component analysis. Students agreed with seven out of fifteen myths to a relatively high degree, although the answers did not reach extreme values. The myth with which the respondents agreed the most is Schizophrenia is incurable. Other items were Schizophrenia means the simultaneous occurrence of multiple personalities in one person., The probability of developing schizophrenia is the same throughout life. and People suffering from schizophrenia are aggressive, violent and commit crimes. Certain differences were found in the degree of agreement with specific items depending on gender, the field of study and sources of information about schizophrenia. The results showed that men and students of technical sciences agreed with myths the most. Conversely, students with personal experience with a person suffering from schizophrenia agreed with the myths to a lesser extent. Factor analysis did not reveal any latent variables among the data that would explain the relationships between the original variables. This research points to the need for educating the public about the issue of schizophrenia and dispelling the myths that this illness is still surrounded by in society. The results can benefit new destigmatization programs, which should be focused mainly on men, students of technical sciences and should support gaining personal experiences with people suffering from schizophrenia. |