Beliefs about schizophrenia in Italy: a comparative nationwide survey of the general public, mental health professionals, and patients' relatives

OBJECTIVE: This study compared beliefs about the causes, treatments, and psychosocial consequences of schizophrenia in a sample of 714 lay respondents, 465 mental health professionals, and 709 key relatives of patients with this disorder. METHOD: We conducted the survey in 30 Italian geographic areas that we randomly selected after considering location and population density. We used the Questionnaire on the Opinions About Mental Illness (QO) to collect data. RESULTS: Of those surveyed, 34% of the lay respondents, 20% of the professionals, and 68% of the relatives stated that schizophrenia is exclusively caused by psychosocial factors. Lay respondents' opinions on patients' civil rights and social competence tended to be more similar to those expressed by professionals then to those reported by relatives. Lay respondents differed from the other 2 groups in their beliefs regarding the effectiveness of psychological treatments, patients' unpredictability, and whether patients should be admitted to asylums. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the general public needs to be better informed about schizophrenia's main characteristics, available treatments, and risk for dangerous behaviours. The existing gap among the study's target populations could be reduced through campaigns aimed at increasing public awareness of the affective and civil rights of patients.