Negative aspects of self-stigma in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

IntroductionMost individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia must cope with some form of stigmatization. Different types of public stigma, self-stigma and label avoidance, may have negative consequences for these individuals.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to search the degree of self-stigma in schizophrenia and its association with the clinical and demographic factors.MethodsOne hundred and ninety-seven stabilized outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders participated in the study. The mean age of the sample was 40 years. All individuals completed the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI) and a demographic questionnaire. The disorder severity was assessed both by a psychiatrist (objCGI-S: the objective version of Clinical Global Impression – Severity scale) and by the patients (subjCGI-S: the subjective version of Clinical Global Impression – Severity scale).ResultsThe total score of the ISMI positively correlated with the severity of the disorder measured by the objCGI-S and the subjCGI-S. Additionally, the self-stigma positively correlated with the treatment duration, and the number of hospitalizations. The regression analysis identified these regressors as the most relevant to the self-stigma – the number of hospitalizations, the severity of the disorder rated by a psychiatrist, and the difference between the objective rating and the subjective rating of the severity of the disorder.ConclusionsOutpatients with psychosis, who have undergone a higher number of hospitalizations, dispose of a higher severity of the disorder and show a bigger discrepancy between their rating of the severity and the psychiatric rating, display a greater degree of self-stigma.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.