Aims — Description of students' opinions about schizophrenia and depression. Methods — The study was carried out on a sample of 445 secondary school students, randomly allocated to a “schizophrenia” or a “depression” group (N=221 and N=224, respectively). Each respondent was asked to read a case—vignette describing a case of schizophrenia or depression, and then to fill the Questionnaire on the Opinions about Mental Illness — General Population's version (QO—GP). Results — 35% of students in “schizophrenia” group vs. 85% in “depression” group attributed a correct diagnosis to case—vignette. 19% of students in the “schizophrenia” group vs. 39% in the “depression” group believed that these mental disorders can recover. Affective and civil rights were more frequently acknowledged to patients with depression than to those with schizophrenia. In both groups, the majority of students stated that mentally ill patients were unpredictable and socially dangerous. Students who reported TV stories on people with mentally ill were more frequently convinced on their unpredictability and social dangerousness. Conclusions — These results outline the need to: a) plan educational campaigns for students on mental disorders; b) alert media professionals on the impact that the way they present crimes committed by mentally ill patients may have on general population.

Declaration of Interest: None of the authors has had any interest or she has received any form of support, including that from drug companies and honoraria for lectures and consultancies potentially in conflict with this scientific work in the last two years. None of the authors has received any form of fee for her participation in this study.

Aims – Media reports related to people suffering from mental illness appear to deal prevalently with acts of violence and crimes. The present study focused on all newspaper reports relating to homicides, suicide, and other acts of violence, in an attempt to ascertain whether a different pattern emerged in some Italian newspapers in describing deeds committed by the mentally ill. Materials and methods – All articles published over a six–month period in the two main national and two main regional newspapers relating to homicides, suicides, and other acts of violence were selected. A comparison of reports regarding events attributed to mentally ill people was performed according to quantitative parameters. Results – 2279 articles were considered; 54% regarded homicides, 8.2% suicides and attempted suicides, 2.1% homicides/suicides; the remaining 35.8% regarded other acts of violence. A significantly higher number of words, accompanying photos and a more stigmatizing language were used in reporting deeds when attributed to mentally ill people. Conclusion – An excessive emphasis on deeds related to a psychopathological condition still emerged in media reports, almost as though acts of violence committed by the mentally insane should be viewed in a different light. These findings support the hypothesis that media portrayal mirrors the enduring stereotype of “diversity” of the mentally ill.

Declaration of Interest: no conflict of interest declared.

Aims - This study aimed to explore psychiatric patients' experiences of involuntary admission and treatment by reviewing qualitative studies. Method - Qualitative studies investigating patients' experiences of involuntary treatment were identified. Relevant databases were searched and authors were contacted. Thematic analysis was applied for the synthesis of emerging issues. Results - Five studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The main areas that appear to be of importance are: patients' perceived autonomy and participation in decisions for themselves, their feeling of whether or not they are being cared for and their sense of identity. In these areas both negative and positive consequences from involuntary admission were mentioned. However, methodological weaknesses were also found, such as small sample sizes. Furthermore, it is not described whether these themes are mentioned by all participants as negative and positive aspects of their experience or whether they reflect views supported by distinct groups. Conclusions - Although the perceived impact of involuntary treatment is fairly clearly described, differences between distinct patient groups are not examined. Future research should investigate such differences in order to inform relevant policy decisions for particular groups.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Aims – To present the psychometric properties of the “Consumer–constructed Scale to measure empowerment” (Rogers et al., 1997 ) Italian version. Methods – After briefly recollecting “history”, contents and psychometric features of the original scale, proceeding from Stratico & Degli Esposti's translation (2002), in this paper, the psychometric properties of the Italian version are described. The text of the instrument has been brought for discussion in a users' focus group and subsequently tested for reliability study; a second focus group followed to reach the definitive Italian version. Results – The Italian version of the Scale, consists of 28 items, showed an adequate internal consistency and reliability both for the whole scale and for most of the items, which have shown to have also good discriminative capacity. Conclusions – SESM can be an useful instrument to give empiric evidence supporting empowerment concept. Considering the results, it can be a qualifying and irreplaceable instrument for “empowered condition” evaluation.

Declaration of Interest: no grants and financial support received for the study.

Nell'ultimo decennio la qualita della vita ha acquisito una sempre maggiore rilevanza come misura di esito sociale e clinico (Katschnig, 1997) dei disturbi mentali. Vi e un ampio consenso sul fatto che il costrutto della qualita della vita è multidimensionale e comprende la percezione che il paziente ha delle relazioni sociali, della propria salute fisica, della capacità di svolgere le attivita quotidiane domestiche e lavorative e del proprio benessere in generale (Patrick & Erickson, 1988). Mentre le misure di funzionamento si propongono di quantificare la compromissione in modo oggettivo, le misure della qualita della vita valutano la capacita del soggetto di trarre soddisfazione e piacere da varie attivita e richiedono una valutazione soggettiva. La definizione di qualita della vita del Quality of Life Group dell'Organizzazione

Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire Versione Breve (Q-LES-Q-SF)

Epidemiologia e psichiatria sociale, 16, 2, 2007, pag. 144