Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Duckworth, K. Articles by Gillespie, C. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Duckworth, K. Articles by Gillespie, C. Stigma, Discrimination Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Use of Schizophrenia as a Metaphor in U.S. Newspapers

Research has identified misleading and stigmatizing popular beliefs about schizophrenia, but little is known about media images corresponding to these beliefs. Building on Susan Sontag's exploration of cancer in the 1978 book Illness as Metaphor, the authors hypothesize that "schizophrenia" is now more commonly misused. A total of 1,740 newspaper articles from 1996 or 1997 that mentioned schizophrenia or cancer were randomly selected and then coded for contextual and metaphorical use. Only 1 percent of articles that mentioned cancer used that illness in a metaphorical way, compared with 28 percent of the articles that mentioned schizophrenia. Results differed by newspaper but not by region. The authors suggest that these inaccurate metaphors in the media contribute to the ongoing stigma and misunderstandings of psychotic illnesses.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. K Chopra and G. A Doody Schizophrenia, an Illness and a metaphor: analysis of the use of the term 'schizophrenia' in the UK national newspapers J R Soc Med, September 1, 2007; 100(9): 423 - 426. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2003 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us