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Correlation between internalized stigma, perception of discrimination and empowerment in schizophrenia patients

Marijan Alfonzo Sesar ; Klinika za psihijatriju Vrapče, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Slađana Ivezić ; Klinika za psihijatriju Vrapče, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Lana Mužinić ; Klinika za psihijatriju Vrapče, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Darija Zubić ; Klinika za psihijatriju Vrapče, Zagreb, Hrvatska

Sažetak

This study investigated the correlation between internalized stigma, perception of discrimination and
empowerment, on 80 participants suffering from schizophrenia. The predictive power of empowerment,
perception of discrimination and social support was also examined, along with the moderation effect of
social support. Finally, we tested the effect of demographic characteristics, and personal and social aspects
of the illness, on differences in these three scales. We found significant and negative Pearson correlation
(r = -0.673) between the level of internalized stigma and the level of empowerment, moderate positive
correlation between the level of self-stigma and perception of discrimination (r = 0.430) and low negative
correlation between the level of empowerment and perception of discrimination (r = -0.380). Empowerment
and perception of discrimination proved to be good indicators of self-stigma, while social support proved
to be a moderator of the correlation between self-stigma and perceived devaluation. Participants with
greater social support showed lower self-stigma if perception of devaluation was also low, while participants
with lower social support showed higher and more stable self-stigma, even when their perception of
discrimination was low. When it comes to specific aspects of social support, participants with close family
members showed higher levels of empowerment than those who did not have such support. Groups of
different socio-demographic characteristics (gender, education level and employment) and personal aspects of the illness (knowledge and agreeing with diagnosis) do not differ significantly in the results on
these three scales. These findings indicate that introducing empowering programs and public awareness
programs can play a role in reducing harmful internalized stigma among patients with schizophrenia. The
results also point to the importance of social support.

Ključne riječi

schizophrenia; stigma; self-stigma; empowerment

Hrčak ID:

162824

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/162824

Datum izdavanja:

3.6.2016.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 2.263 *