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Media consumption and desire for social distance towards people with schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

M.C. Angermeyer ,
S. Dietrich ,
D. Pott  and
H. Matschinger
M.C. Angermeyer*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 20, 04317Leipzig, Germany
S. Dietrich
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 20, 04317Leipzig, Germany
D. Pott
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 20, 04317Leipzig, Germany
H. Matschinger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 20, 04317Leipzig, Germany
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.C. Angermeyer).
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Abstract

There is ample evidence for a distorted presentation of the mentally ill in the media. However, only little is known about its impact on attitudes towards people with mental disorders. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between watching TV and reading the newspaper on the one hand, and the desire for social distance towards people with schizophrenia on the other. In 2001, a representative population survey was conducted in Germany, using a fully structured personal interview. We found that the desire for social distance towards people with schizophrenia increases almost continuously with the amount of TV consumption. The association between reading the newspaper and social distance is less pronounced and depends on the type of newspaper people read. Since, obviously, there is a relationship between media consumption and attitudes towards people with schizophrenia, inaccurate and one-sided messages about mental disorders should be replaced by accurate and more balanced messages.

Keywords

MediaAttitudesSchizophrenia
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , May 2005 , pp. 246 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier SAS 2005

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