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The link between psychiatric conditions, quality of life (QoL) and mindfulness has been well established. In populations with schizophrenia, however, this link has not been extensively explored, and the psychological mechanisms that mediate it have remained unknown. This study aimed to examine the relations between mindfulness and QoL among individuals with schizophrenia. Positive reappraisal and stigma resistance are further explored as mechanisms through which mindfulness exert its positive effects on QoL. We recruited 254 individuals with schizophrenia in the outpatient clinic of a Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital. Participants completed the relevant measures such as Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale - Revised (CAMS-R), positive reappraisal subscale of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ, stigma resistance subscale of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, and Schizophrenia Quality of Life scale (SQLS). Hayes PROCESS macro for SPSS was employed for data analysis. Result supported the proposed hypothesis. Patients with greater mindfulness reported improved QoL. Positive reappraisal and stigma resistance independently mediated the relations between mindfulness and QoL. Such findings have shed light upon previous studies by emphasizing on the mediating role that positive reappraisal and stigma resistance play in transmitting the positive impact of mindfulness on QoL. Positive reappraisal and stigma resistance appears to be a core element in promoting the positive effect of mindfulness on QoL among people with schizophrenia and therefore should inform intervention targets., Author(s): Chinenye Joseph Aliche [sup.1] , Chuka Mike Ifeagwazi [sup.1] , Joy Ugo Nwamarah [sup.2] , Franca Obiageli Okechukwu [sup.3] , Elias Chukwuemeka Ngwu [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/01sn1yx84, grid.10757.34, [...]

Michel Houellebecq's representations of selfhood, both in his theoretical works and literary oeuvre, depict the self as unstable, decentered or fluid, evoking postmodern theory about the dissociative nature of the self. In his essay 'Approaches to Distress' (1997), he posits the notion of the 'mutable self' and, for the unmoored protagonists of his novels, self-identity becomes increasingly fractured and fluid as they are engulfed by what the author terms 'the market society. ' Herein, the individual is enjoined to adapt and change (in consonance with market forces, consumer tastes, social trends) while fixed values and identities are swept away by the mutability of capitalism. In his representations of selfhood, Houellebecq evokes the theories of Baudrillard and Jameson concerning postmodern schizophrenia, the latter eschewing clinical definitions of the term to offer a diagnosis of the subject's fractured psychical apparatus and loss of subjectivity in postmodernity. Keywords: self / Michel Houellebecq / schizophrenia / Jean Baudrillard / Frederic Jameson, INTRODUCTION: WRITING THE SELF AS FLUID In his essay 'Approaches to Distress' (Approches du desarroi), Michel Houellebecq characterizes the existence of modern (wo)man as opaque and mutable: 'The techniques that [...]

IntroductionSchizophrenia induces emotional impairments, causing social dysfunction. (1) Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are heterogeneous, but can be grouped into 2 independent clusters: apathy/avolition and diminished emotional expression. (2) Apathy is [...], Background: Within the heterogeneity of schizophrenia, apathy constitutes an independent cluster of negative symptoms associated with poor outcomes. Attempts to identify an emotional deficit in patients who have schizophrenia with negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, and studies that focus on the relationship between apathy and emotional disorders are lacking. Methods: We set out to remedy this shortcoming using a validated battery of film excerpts to induce positive and negative emotions in patients with chronic schizophrenia with (n = 20) or without (n = 20) apathy, and in controls (n = 20) comparable for age, sex and socioeconomic status. We assessed emotions using an innovative but validated technique to evaluate tonic and phasic electrodermal activity and subjective feelings using a standardized visual analogue scale. Results: Using a qualitative measure of apathy, we did not find a specific decrease in tonic activity during the induction of positive emotions. However, we did observe that patients with apathy showed reduced tonic activity independent of valence (i.e., for both positive and negative emotions) compared with controls and patients without apathy. Moreover, the quantitative measure of apathy (Apathy Evaluation Scale) was the only significant factor, explaining 24% of the variance in tonic activity during induction of positive emotions after controlling for confounding factors. Limitations: Electrodermal activity was the only physiologic measure we acquired. We induced several emotions sequentially that might have overlapped with each other, but we added an emotional 'washout' period and randomized the order of each film excerpt to limit this possibility. Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest that apathy in schizophrenia could impair tonic activity during positive emotions. Treatments aimed at enhancing positive emotions may help alleviate apathy in schizophrenia.

The article discusses the relation between masculinity and schizophrenia among Mexican men and the impact of schizophrenia on the social role expectations. The impact of neoliberal economics, globalization, and economic restructuring on the lives of schizophrenic men are also discussed. Topics include dependence on family caregivers, treatment outcome, and social stigma of schizophrenia.

Purpose: The study examines the determinants of the quality of life (QoL) among outpatients with schizophrenia in Jordan. Design and Methods: A cross‐sectional study design was used with 157 people with schizophrenia treated in outpatient clinics. Demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables were examined for their influence on QoL. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation and stepwise forward multiple linear regression. Findings: The majority of the study participants were female, single, unemployed, had secondary level of education or less and were being supported financially by family members. QoL correlated negatively with advanced age, male gender, longer duration of illness, high body mass index and prescribed typical anti‐psychotic medication. However, it was correlated positively with employment and being married. Illness duration, recurrent hospitalisation, knowledge level about schizophrenia, psychiatric symptoms and coping mechanisms were found to be key significant predictors of QoL among participants. Practical Implications: The study findings enhance our understanding of socio‐demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics influencing the QoL in people with schizophrenia. Involvement of families in the management process may improve patients' ability to be integrated in the community and be more socially active. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Impairments in self-assessment are common in people with schizophrenia and impairments in self-assessment of cognitive ability have been found to predict impaired functional outcome. In this study, we examined self-assessment of social cognitive ability and related them to assessments of social cognition provided by informants, to performance on tests of social cognition, and to everyday outcomes. The difference between self-reported social cognition and informant ratings was used to predict everyday functioning.Methods: People with schizophrenia (n=135) performed 8 different tests of social cognition. They were asked to rate their social cognitive abilities on the Observable Social Cognition Rating Scale (OSCARs). High contact informants also rated social cognitive ability and everyday outcomes, while unaware of the patients' social cognitive performance and self-assessments. Social competence was measured with a performance-based assessment and clinical ratings of negative symptoms were also performed.Results: Patient reports of their social cognitive abilities were uncorrelated with performance on social cognitive tests and with three of the four domains of functional outcomes. Differences between self-reported and informant rated social cognitive ability predicted impaired everyday functioning across all four functional domains. This difference score predicted disability even when the influences of social cognitive performance, social competence, and negative symptoms were considered.Implications: Mis-estimation of social cognitive ability was an important predictor of social and nonsocial outcomes in schizophrenia compared to performance on social cognitive tests. These results suggest that consideration of self-assessment is critical when attempting to evaluate the causes of disability and when trying to implement interventions targeting disability reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the constructionist framing approach, this quantitative content analysis compares online news coverage of schizophrenia in China and the United States in 2015. Incorporating the concept of individualism--collectivism, this study seeks to unveil the effects of culture on the framing of causes, solutions, responsibility attribution, and discourse types. The findings reveal that the link between cultural orientation and the media's framing of schizophrenia is not simple, as both cross-cultural consistency and differences were observed. In addition, compared to U.S. online media, Chinese online news outlets were more likely to cover schizophrenia episodically, while placing more problem-solving responsibility on society. Moreover, examining stigma and challenge cues, this study also found that schizophrenia was more severely stigmatized in Chinese than in U.S. online news platforms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia remains one of the major psychiatric disorder with huge social and economic costs for the individual and community. The role of psycho-social factors is important both on the etiopathogenesis of the illness and its evolution, lack of social functioning and associated stress have impact on everyday life of people with this diagnosis. Our study of 100 subjects with schizophrenia has showed significant correlations between clinical and social items: bigger number of admissions, longest duration of the evolution, cognitive deficits, smoking, suicidal behavior, age, marital status, smoking, level of perceived stress. The social functioning was influenced by these factors, and the therapeutically management during the hospitalization does not showed an improvement of the social function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although deficits in social cognition (SC) had been recognized as a hallmark of schizophrenia, quality data in Indian context were limited. The purpose of the current research was to determine the demographic and clinical correlates of SC in schizophrenia. Methods: Between February 2014 and January 2015, a case-control study was conducted in Chhattisgarh, India, among 100 paranoid schizophrenia patients (ICD-10) from two psychiatric hospitals and 100 neighborhood-based healthy (28-item General Health Questionnaire) controls. After obtaining signed consent, SC was assessed among 20-35-year-old, high school or more educated subjects ensuring eligibility for appropriate scales. Results: Patients had poorer social knowledge (adjusted-beta-coefficient [AC] = -4.89 [-6.32, -3.45]) and lower predicted mean score for internal attribution of negative event (AC: -0.72 [-1.17, -0.27]). Nonrecognition of facial expressions especially for anger (adjusted-odds-ratio [AOR] = 3.50 [1.17, 10.51]), surprise (AOR = 2.91 [1.36, 6.25]) and fear (AOR = 2.35 [1.11, 5.01]) was more common among cases. Wrong recognition of expressions was less likely among females (for surprise: AOR = 0.35 [0.13, 0.93]) and educated (for sadness: AOR = 0.11 [0.02, 0.58]) but more common among wealthy (for surprise: AOR = 4.58 [1.22, 17.19]) and urban (for fear: unadjusted odds ratios = 4.30 [1.53, 12.03]) subjects. If recognized expressions correctly, females were more likely to perceive higher intensity of anger (AOR = 4.30 [1.80, 10.29]) and happiness (AOR = 4.22 [1.66, 10.72]). Higher intensity was perceived by more educated subjects regarding anger (AOR = 2.57 [1.04, 6.34]) but not for happiness (AOR = 0.09 [0.01, 0.79]). Unmarried/divorced/separated perceived happiness (AOR = 2.86 [1.02, 7.97]) with more intensity while those in joint families perceived sadness (AOR = 2.80 [1.22, 6.41]) and fear (AOR = 2.28 [1.01, 5.16]) with more intensity. Conclusion: A significant impairment in SC was observed among paranoid schizophrenia cases in Chhattisgarh, India. Intervention and further research addressing identified issues of SC need to target specific subpopulations, among schizophrenia patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Psychotic disorders contribute significantly to the global disease burden, yet the latest international incidence study of psychotic disorders was conducted in the 1980s.Objectives: To estimate the incidence of psychotic disorders using comparable methods across 17 catchment areas in 6 countries and to examine the variance between catchment areas by putative environmental risk factors.Design, Setting, and Participants: An international multisite incidence study (the European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions) was conducted from May 1, 2010, to April 1, 2015, among 2774 individuals from England (2 catchment areas), France (3 catchment areas), Italy (3 catchment areas), the Netherlands (2 catchment areas), Spain (6 catchment areas), and Brazil (1 catchment area) with a first episode of nonorganic psychotic disorders (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision [ICD-10] codes F20-F33) confirmed by the Operational Criteria Checklist. Denominator populations were estimated using official national statistics.Exposures: Age, sex, and racial/ethnic minority status were treated as a priori confounders. Latitude, population density, percentage unemployment, owner-occupied housing, and single-person households were treated as catchment area-level exposures.Main Outcomes and Measures: Incidence of nonorganic psychotic disorders (ICD-10 codes F20-F33), nonaffective psychoses (ICD-10 codes F20-F29), and affective psychoses (ICD-10 codes F30-F33) confirmed by the Operational Criteria Checklist.Results: A total of 2774 patients (1196 women and 1578 men; median age, 30.5 years [interquartile range, 23.0-41.0 years]) with incident cases of psychotic disorders were identified during 12.9 million person-years at risk (crude incidence, 21.4 per 100 000 person-years; 95% CI, 19.4-23.4 per 100 000 person-years). A total of 2183 patients (78.7%) had nonaffective psychotic disorders. After direct standardization for age, sex, and racial/ethnic minority status, an 8-fold variation was seen in the incidence of all psychotic disorders, from 6.0 (95% CI, 3.5-8.6) per 100 000 person-years in Santiago, Spain, to 46.1 (95% CI, 37.3-55.0) per 100 000 person-years in Paris, France. Rates were elevated in racial/ethnic minority groups (incidence rate ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.5-1.7), were highest for men 18 to 24 years of age, and were lower in catchment areas with more owner-occupied homes (incidence rate ratio, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.7-0.8). Similar patterns were observed for nonaffective psychoses; a lower incidence of affective psychoses was associated with higher area-level unemployment (incidence rate ratio, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2-0.5).Conclusions and Relevance: This study confirmed marked heterogeneity in risk for psychotic disorders by person and place, including higher rates in younger men, racial/ethnic minorities, and areas characterized by a lower percentage of owner-occupied houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we consider interpersonal experience in schizophrenia, melancholia, and mania. Our goal is to improve understanding of similarities and differences in how other people can be experienced in these disorders, [...]

Rationale: Variables influencing real-life functioning have repeatedly been modeled in schizophrenia subjects but not systematically investigated in their unaffected first-degree relatives (SRs), in whom milder forms of deficits reported in schizophrenia have been observed, but confounders of clinical cohorts are not in play. Demonstrating that pathways to functional outcome are similar between patients and SRs would validate structural models developed in schizophrenia subjects. The present multicenter study aimed to explore whether variables associated with real-life functioning are similar in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected relatives.Methods: The study sample included 921 schizophrenia patients, 379 SRs and 780 healthy controls. Structural Equation Models (SEMs) were used in patients and SRs to test associations of psychopathological dimensions, neurocognition, social cognition, resilience, perceived stigma and functional capacity with real-life functioning domains, impaired in both patients and SRs.Results: Interpersonal Relationships and Work Skills were the only functional domains impaired in both patients and SRs. For both domains, functional impairment in patients was found to predict impairment in unaffected relatives, suggesting the involvement of similar illness-related vulnerability factors. In both groups variables significantly associated with Interpersonal Relationships included Social Cognition, Neurocognition, Avolition, Resilience, Disorganization, Perceived Stigma and Gender, and those significantly associated with Work Skills included Social Cognition, Neurocognition and Disorganization.Conclusions: Pathways to functional outcome for Interpersonal relationships and Work skills are similar between schizophrenia patients and their unaffected first-degree relatives. These findings validate, in the absence of confounders of clinical cohorts, structural models of determinants of functional outcome in people with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to study stigma experienced by caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. One hundred caregivers of patients with schizophrenia were evaluated on Stigma scale for caregivers of people with mental illness (CPMI), Explanatory model interview catalogue stigma scale (EMIC), General health questionnaire-12 (GHQ), Self-report attitude towards medications questionnaire and Knowledge of mental illness scale (KMI). On CPMI the score was higher for affective component (2.3±0.5) than for cognitive (1.9±0.9) and behavioural (1.8±0.6) components. More than half of caregivers ‘agreeing’ or ‘strongly agreeing’ on 20 out of 22 items of CPMI indicated high level of stigma. On EMIC the stigma score was 21.7±6.3. Higher level of affiliate and/or associative stigma was associated with shorter duration of illness and treatment, shorter duration of being in the caregiver role, younger, female and non-earning caregivers, prescription of higher number of pills, caregivers who less often accompany the patient to the hospital and caregivers experienced more psychological morbidity. To conclude this study suggests that caregivers of patients with schizophrenia experience substantial stigma; hospital and community level programs and services are required to reduce and prevent the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of empathy is a critical factor impacting on social functioning and quality of life in schizophrenia. There is, however, a paucity of research into the underlying neurophysiological correlates of empathy deficits in this disorder. Accordingly, we sought: (1) to identify whether dysfunctional empathic abilities in schizophrenia are related to alterations in early or late brain processes, and (2) to explore the potential relationship between brain activity and mood, self-reported empathy and symptom severity. Eighteen patients with schizophrenia and 21 healthy matched controls performed an empathy-for-pain paradigm where photographs of hands in neutral or painful situations were shown while we recorded their electroencephalography (EEG), and we examined mood, empathic concern for others and symptom severity. Significant group differences between patients and controls emerged in early (50–150 ms after stimulus onset) and late (after 300 ms) timeframes. Moreover, brain activity was related with unpleasantness ratings in all participants, with self-reported empathic concern only in controls and with negative mood and personal distress only in patients. Differences in social behavior in schizophrenia may be explained by early as well as late differences, affecting mostly the early frontocentral ERPs, i.e. those suggested to correspond to the emotional sharing component of empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence supports a continuum model of psychosis, with mild psychotic symptoms being frequently experienced by the general population. Moreover, believing in the continuum model correlates with less stigmatization of schizophrenia. This study explores whether continuum beliefs are a valid construct and develops a continuum beliefs scale. First, expert-generated items were reduced to a candidate scale (study 1, n =95). One-dimensionality was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (study 2, n =363). Convergent validity was tested with a previous continuum beliefs scale, essentialist beliefs, and stigmatization (study 2), while self-reported psychotic experiences (i.e. frequency and conviction) served to test discriminant validity (study 3, n =229). A nine item questionnaire that assesses continuum beliefs about schizophrenia symptoms showed acceptable to good psychometric values, high correlations with a previous continuum beliefs scale and small correlations with essentialist beliefs, stereotypes, and desired social distance. No correlations with psychotic experiences were found. Thus, continuum beliefs can be considered a valid construct. The construed CBQ-R asks about symptoms rather than the abstract category “schizophrenia”, which may increase understandability of the scale. Validation confirms previous studies and highlights the difference between continuum beliefs and personal psychotic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental illness that affects 1% of the population in all cultures. Objective To investigate causal beliefs regarding schizophrenia among families of Iraqi schizophrenic inpatients, and discuss the differences and similarities across cultures. Methods Two hundred Iraqi schizophrenic inpatients fulfilling DSM-IV criteria of schizophrenia were included. Causal beliefs of their key relatives were examined. Information list including open question of the causal beliefs of schizophrenia and sociodemographic data was used. The statistical significance of the findings was tested. Results Key relatives attributed natural causes to schizophrenia more often than supernatural causes. Stress was 44%. Stresses were related to life events, trauma, social problems, war, prison and poverty. Other causes were: 27% organic and 15% personality attributions. Supernatural causal beliefs were only 29%, including witchcraft, envy, possession, devil, karama and wish or punishment of God. Conclusions The major causal beliefs of schizophrenia amongst Iraqi relatives of the studied sample were stresses. Families' attribution of supernatural causes was similar across cultures. Organicity was more in the European studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Family stigma constitutes a major problem in schizophrenia worldwide. Data on first-hand experience of stigma in families is necessary for planning and implementing interventions to reduce its burden. The aim of the study was to investigate the experience of stigma among relatives of persons with schizophrenia in Belarus.Methods: Qualitative research methods, such as the thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 relatives of people diagnosed with schizophrenia, were used. Experience of discrimination, strategies used to cope with it, and requests for interventions were investigated.Results: The most salient themes in experience of stigma in the private domain of life elicited in the narratives included anticipated stigma and dissolution of families. The experience of stigma was associated with burdensome feelings of guilt, tiredness and loneliness, together with fear and anxiety due to uncertainty in the future and sorrow because of frustrated hopes in past. Analysis of the strategies used to overcome the difficulties revealed concealment and "life behind closed doors", avoidance of the rest of the family, taking full responsibility and sacrificing one's personal life.Conclusion: To reduce the burden of stigma in the private life of the family members of people living with schizophrenia in Belarus, important steps should be taken to promote the empowerment of families including: reforming mental health services; provision of better access to information; family support services, community care; development of family organisations; assistance in communication, re-socialisation and independent living for people diagnosed with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide that mediates a variety of complex social behaviors in animals and humans. Intranasal OT has been used as an experimental therapeutic for human conditions characterized by deficits in social functioning, especially autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. However, it is currently under intense debate whether intranasal delivery of OT reaches the central nervous system. In this study, four female rhesus macaques were implanted with chronic intrathecal catheters and used to investigate the pharmacokinetic profile of OT in the central nervous system and the peripheral vasculature following intravenous (IV) and intranasal (IN) administration of OT. In a randomized, crossover design, OT was given to four awake monkeys at three different doses based on body weight (0.1 IU/kg; 1 IU/kg; 5 IU/kg). A time course of concurrent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples were taken following administration. We found a dose-dependent effect of IV OT treatment on plasma OT levels, which peaked at 5 min post-dose and gradually returned to baseline by 120 min. In contrast, a change in CSF OT was only observed at the highest IV dose (5 IU/kg) at 15 min post-dose and gradually returned to baseline by 120 min. After IN administration, there was no significant change in plasma OT at any of the three doses. However, at the highest dose level, we found a significant increase in CSF OT at 15–30 min post- dose. The results of this study in light of recent, similar publications highlight the importance of methodological consistency across studies. This study also establishes a non-human primate model that can provide a stable platform for carrying out serial sampling from the central nervous system and peripheral vasculature concurrently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the depiction of mental illness in the films, comics and video games involving the fictitious characters Batman and the Joker, including its role in stigmatizing mental ill health. Fictional diagnoses of the Joker with schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder (DID) are discussed.

Objective: The clinical symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with serious social, quality of life and functioning alterations. Typically, data on health utilities are not available in clinical studies in schizophrenia. This makes the economic evaluation of schizophrenia treatments challenging. The purpose of this article was to provide a mapping function to predict unobserved utility values in patients with schizophrenia from the available clinical and socio-demographic information.Methods: The analysis was performed using data from EuroSC, a 2-year, multi-centre, cohort study conducted in France (N = 288), Germany (N = 618), and the UK (N = 302), totalling 1208 patients. Utility was calculated based on the EQ-5D questionnaire. The relationships between the utility values and the patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale--PANSS, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia--CDSS, Global Assessment of Functioning--GAF, extra-pyramidal symptoms measured by Barnes Akathisia Scale-BAS, age, sex, country, antipsychotic type) were modelled using a random and a fixed individual effects panel linear model.Results: The analysis demonstrated the prediction ability of the used parameters for estimating utility measures in patients with schizophrenia. Although there are small variations between countries, the same variables appear to be the key predictors. From a clinical perspective, age, gender, psychopathology, and depression were the most important predictors associated with the EQ-5D.Conclusion: This paper proposed a reliable, robust and easy-to-apply mapping method to estimate EQ-5D utilities based on demographic and clinical measures in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings regarding the protective effect of social role functioning on suicide ideation in individuals with schizophrenia have been mixed. One reason for such inconsistencies in the literature may be that individuals with prominent negative symptoms of schizophrenia may not experience a desire for social closeness, and therefore social role functioning may not influence suicide risk in these individuals. The aim of this study was to examine the moderating effects of self-reported desire for social closeness and interviewer-rated negative symptoms on the relationship between social role functioning and suicide ideation. Our sample consisted of 162 individuals who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders; all participants completed self-report questionnaires and clinician-administered interviews, and moderation hypotheses were tested with a non-parametric procedure. The results indicated that motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms moderated the relationship between social role functioning and suicide ideation; self-reported desire for social closeness and negative symptoms related to expression did not have such a moderating effect. Specifically, better social role functioning was associated with less suicide ideation only in those individuals who had low motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms; no significant relationship was observed between social role functioning and suicide ideation among those with elevated motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms. These findings suggest that assessing for negative symptoms and social role functioning may inform suicide risk assessments in individuals with schizophrenia, and improving social role functioning may reduce suicide ideation among those with few motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Person with schizophrenia have the deterioration of personal, family, and social life. The illness leads to many disabilities in terms of interpersonal skills, communication skills, coping skills, dealing with emotions, self-care, self-control, occupational skills. Impairments in social functioning are among the most debilitating and treatment refractory aspects of schizophrenia (Bellack et al., 2007). Materials and Methods: The study aimed to know social skills deficits among persons with schizophrenia and to check the efficacy of the social skills training programme. A total number of 12 persons with schizophrenia, who were availing day care rehabilitation services, were selected randomly for the social skills training programme. The researcher adopted quasi experimental design without control, and interview and observer rating method used to collect data. Major Finding: Significant amount of deficits were found in self care, instrumental skills, communication skills, impulse control and social functions of the participants. The post social skills training programme there was significant improvement reported in social skills of the participants, repeated measures shows (F1.65,18.15)=93.26, p=26 significant level of change in social skills in post1 and post2 test. Conclusion: The present study reported the efficacy of social skills training in improving social skills among persons with schizophrenia who are availing day care rehabilitation facility. The model of social skills training programme were found to be effective and can be applied for larger practice in rehabilitation centres in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the arts as therapy is a paradox in India. Despite a long tradition of healing rituals and practices, there is barely any arts-based model consistent used for contemporary mental health needs and settings. With the aim of introducing and investigating use of ABT (Arts-based Therapy), regular sessions were conducted at Schizophrenia Awareness Association's day-care centre in Pune, India over a period of eighteen months. The group was heterogeneous, with varied severity of symptoms of schizophrenia. With therapeutic goals of present moment attention and interpersonal engagement, participant responses were recorded through PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale), a Rating Scale, a Checklist and qualitative observations. All data sources show definite though variable response to ABT. PANSS scores noted a decline in negative symptoms and general psychopathology, especially the sub-items marked 'severe' show a clear trend of reduction. The correlations between PANSS, Rating Scale and Checklist are notable though not statistically significant. The qualitative data uncovers the nuances of the process. Despite a small sample size, the study points in the direction of use of ABT in mental health settings, especially within the Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Disordered interpersonal communication can be a serious problem in schizophrenia. Recent advances in computer-based measures allow reliable and objective quantification of nonverbal behavior. Research using these novel measures has shown that objective amounts of body and head movement in patients with schizophrenia during social interactions are closely related to the symptom profiles of these patients. In addition to and above mere amounts of movement, the degree of synchrony, or imitation, between patients and normal interactants may be indicative of core deficits underlying various problems in domains related to interpersonal communication, such as symptoms, social competence, and social functioning. Methods: Nonverbal synchrony was assessed objectively using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA) in 378 brief, videotaped role-play scenes involving 27 stabilized outpatients diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia. Results: Low nonverbal synchrony was indicative of symptoms, low social competence, impaired social functioning, and low self-evaluation of competence. These relationships remained largely significant when correcting for the amounts of patients‘ movement. When patients showed reduced imitation of their interactants’ movements, negative symptoms were likely to be prominent. Conversely, positive symptoms were more prominent in patients when their interaction partners’ imitation of their movements was reduced. Conclusions: Nonverbal synchrony can be an objective and sensitive indicator of the severity of patients’ problems. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of nonverbal synchrony may provide novel insights into specific relationships between symptoms, cognition, and core communicative problems in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired social functioning is a characteristic of schizophrenia that affects patients’ quality of life. The aim of the study was to assess prefrontal hemodynamic responses during a cognitive task and establish its influence on psychiatric symptoms, cognitive function, global functioning, and self-reported social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Thirty-three patients with schizophrenia and 30 age-and sex-matched healthy controls participated in the study. We measured hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal and superior temporal cortical surface areas with 52-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during a verbal fluency task (VFT). Self-reported social functioning was assessed using the Social Functioning Scale (SFS). Regional hemodynamic responses were significantly smaller in the prefrontal and temporal regions in subjects with schizophrenia than in the controls, and prefrontal hemodynamic responses during the VFT showed a strong correlation with SFS total scores. These results suggest an association between self-reported social functioning and prefrontal activation in subjects with schizophrenia. The present study provides evidence that NIRS imaging could be helpful in understanding the neural basis of social functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01334.x Byline: KIRSTEN von SYDOW (*), STEFAN BEHER ([dagger]), JOCHEN SCHWEITZER ([double dagger]), RUDIGER RETZLAFF (s.) Keywords: Systemic Therapy; Systems Oriented Family Therapy; Couples Therapy; Family Therapy; Multifamily Group Therapy; Individual Therapy; Randomized-Controlled Trial (RCT); Efficacy; Therapy Research Abstract: All abstracts are available in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese on Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1545-5300). Please pass this information on to your international colleagues and students. Systemic therapy is a widely used psychotherapy approach. Yet there exist few systematic reviews on its efficacy. A meta-content analysis was performed to analyze the efficacy of systemic therapy for the treatment of mental disorders in adulthood. All randomized (or matched) controlled trials (RCT) evaluating systemic/systems oriented therapy in various settings (family, couple, individual, group, multifamily group therapy) with adult index patients suffering from mental disorders were identified by database searches and cross-references in other reviews. Inclusion criteria were: index patient diagnosed with a DSM or ICD listed mental disorder, trial published in any language up to the end of 2008. The RCTs were content analyzed according to their research methodology, interventions applied, and results. Thirty-eight trials published in English, German, Spanish, and Chinese were identified, 34 of them showing systemic therapy to be efficacious for the treatment of mood disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, mental and social factors related to medical conditions and physical disorders, and schizophrenia. Systemic therapy may also be efficacious for anxiety disorders. Results were stable across follow-up periods of up to 5 years. There is a sound evidence-base for the efficacy of systemic therapy for adult index patients with mental disorders in at least five diagnostic groups. Abstract (French) RESUMEN Introduccion: La terapia sistemica es un enfoque psicoterapeutico muy utilizado, sin embargo, existen pocas evaluaciones sistematicas sobre su eficacia. Se realizo un analisis de metacontenido a fin de analizar la eficacia de la terapia sistemica para el tratamiento de trastornos mentales en la adultez. Metodos: Mediante busquedas en bases de datos y remisiones en otras evaluaciones se identificaron todas las pruebas controladas aleatorias (o emparejadas) que evaluaban la terapia sistemica en varios contextos (terapia familiar, de pareja, individual, grupal, multifamiliar) con pacientes indice adultos que padecian trastornos mentales. Los criterios de inclusion fueron: paciente indice diagnosticado con un trastorno mental listado en el 'Manual diagnostico y estadistico de los trastornos mentales' (DSM, por sus siglas en ingles) o en la 'Clasificacion internacional de enfermedades' (ICD), prueba publicada en cualquier idioma hasta fines de 2008. Se analizo el contenido de las pruebas controladas aleatorias de acuerdo con su metodologia de investigacion, intervenciones aplicadas y resultados. Resultados: Se identificaron 38 pruebas publicadas en ingles, aleman, espanol y chino, 34 de las cuales demostraron la eficacia de la terapia sistemica para el tratamiento de trastornos del estado de animo, trastornos alimenticios, trastornos de abuso de sustancias, factores mentales y sociales relacionados con problemas de salud y trastornos fisicos, y esquizofrenia. La terapia sistemica tambien puede ser eficaz para los trastornos de la ansiedad. Los resultados fueron estables durante periodos de seguimiento de hasta 5 anos. Debate: Existe una base solida de evidencia en relacion con la eficacia de la terapia sistemica para pacientes indice adultos con trastornos mentales en por lo menos cinco grupos diagnosticos. Palabras clave: Terapia sistemica, terapia familiar con orientacion sistemica, terapia de parejas, terapia familiar, terapia de grupo multifamiliar, terapia individual, prueba controlada aleatoria, eficacia, investigacion sobre terapia. Author Affiliation: (*)Clinical psychologist. ([dagger])University of Bielefeld, Department of Sociology. ([double dagger])Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital. (s.)Director of the Clinic of Marital and Family Therapy, Institute for Collaborative Psychosomatic Research and Family Therapy, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital. Article note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kirsten von Sydow at Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, Am Kollnischen Park 2, D-10179 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: kirsten.von.sydow@t-online.de

This study examined whether the sociocultural context moderates the relationship between families' expressed emotion (EE) and clinical outcomes in schizophrenia. In a sample of 60 Mexican American caregivers and their ill relatives, we first assessed whether EE and its indices (criticism, emotional overinvolvement [EOI], and warmth) related to relapse. Second, we extended the analysis of EE and its indices to a longitudinal assessment of symptomatology. Last, we tested whether bidimensional acculturation moderated the relationship between EE (and its indices) and both relapse and symptom trajectory over time. Results indicated that EOI was associated with increased relapse and that criticism was associated with increased symptomatology. Additionally, as patients' Mexican enculturation (Spanish language and media involvement) decreased, EE was increasingly related to relapse. For symptomatology, as patients' U.S. acculturation (English language and media involvement) increased, EE was associated with increased symptoms longitudinally. Our results replicate and extend past research on how culture might shape the way family factors relate to the course of schizophrenia. Keywords: schizophrenia, expressed emotion, acculturation, enculturation, Mexican Americans DOI: 10.1037/a0020908

Background: Previous epidemiological studies have shown a high incidence of schizophrenia in African-Caribbeans in the UK, but not in Asians. Aims: We investigated the hypothesis that cultural adherence might protect the Asians against the stress of living in a majority white culture. Methods: The Culture and Identity Schedule (CANDID) was given to patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia making their first contact with psychiatric services, and to a matched group of controls randomly selected from the general population. Results: While the Asian patients displayed no drift away from the traditional values as espoused by their controls, the African-Caribbean patients were less traditional than their controls. Conclusions: The fact that a movement away from their traditional culture distinguishes African-Caribbean patients with a severe psychiatric illness, schizophrenia, from their mentally healthy controls strongly favours marginalization over biculturalism as an interpretation of this shift.

While research has demonstrated strong relationships between negative symptoms and social difficulties in schizophrenia, little is known about the possible role of employment status and setting in this relationship. Seventy-seven participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, who were either unemployed (n = 34), employed within a specialty mental health setting (n = 23), or employed within a community setting (n = 20) were assessed twice, six weeks apart, as to their negative symptoms and social functioning. Work in community settings generally predicted an increase in the levels of social functioning over time. However, individuals with high levels of negative symptoms who were employed in community settings evinced substantial decline in social functioning over time compared to unemployment or to employment in specialty mental health settings. These results are consistent with action models of psychopathology and encourage heightened sensitivity to individual symptomatic profiles in the course of vocational rehabilitation.

The author discusses the article intersubjectivity pathology in austism and schizophrenia. Topics discussed include the implication of worldview such as the nature of selfhood and cognition, the manifestation of impairments of the intersubjectivity in the mental disorder cases and the stages of intersubjectivity according to demarcations such as affective attunement, shared concepts and understanding of the perspective of self and other.

Most mental disorders include more or less profound disturbances of intersubjectivity, that means, a restricted capacity to respond to the social environment in a flexible way and to reach a shared understanding through adequate interaction with others. Current concepts of in ter subjectivity are mainly based on a mentalistic approach, assuming that the hidden mental states of others may only be inferred from their external bodily behaviour through 'mentalizing' or 'mindreading On this basis, disorders of inter subjectivity for example in autism or schizophrenia are attributed to a dysfunction of Theory of Mind modules. From a phenomenological point of view, however, inter subjectivity is primarily based on a pre-reflective embodied relationship of self and other in an emergent bipersonal field. Instead of a theory deficit, autistic and schizophrenic patients rather suffer from a basic disturbance of being-with-others which they try to compensate by explicit inferences and hypothetical assumptions about others. The paper consequently distinguishes three levels of intersubjectivity: (a) primary intersubjectivity or intercorporeality, (b) secondary inter subjectivity or perspective-taking, and (c) tertiary intersubjectivity, implying a self-other metaperspective. On this basis, disturbances on these different levels in autism and schizophrenia are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of theoretical models have defined stigma as occurring psychologically and limit its negative effects to individual processes. This paper, via an analysis of how 'face' is embodied in China, deepens an articulation of how the social aspects of stigma might incorporate the moral standing of both individual and collective actors defined within a local context. We illustrate (1) how one's moral standing is lodged within a local social world; (2) how one's status as a 'moral' community member is contingent upon upholding intrapersonal and social-transactional obligations; and (3) how loss of face and fears of moral contamination might lead to a 'social death'. We first draw from Chinese ethnographies that describe the process of human cultivation before one can achieve fully 'moral' status in society. We integrate findings from empirical studies describing how social-exchange networks in China are strictly organized based on the reciprocation of favors, moral positioning, and 'face'. We further ground these Chinese constructs within a theoretical framework of different forms of capital, and discuss the severe social consequences that loss of face entails. By utilizing the examples of schizophrenia and AIDS to illustrate how loss of moral standing and stigma is interwoven in China, we propose a model highlighting changes in moral status to describe how stigma operates. We suggest that symbolic restoration of moral status for stigmatized groups takes place as local-level stigma interventions. By analyzing the moral aspects of 'face', we propose that across cultures, stigma is embedded in the moral experience of participants, whereby stigma is conceived as a fundamentally moral issue: stigmatized conditions threaten what matters most for those in a local world. We further propose that stigma jeopardizes an actor's ability to mobilize social capital to attain essential social statuses. Keywords: China AIDS Face Mental illness Discrimination Social capital Culture Stigma

Schizophrenia is associated with severe deficits in social functioning. Similar deficits may be present prior to psychosis onset, in childhood and adolescence. If so, then prepsychosis social deficits could provide clues to the development of pathological processes in preschizophrenia children and could potentially improve early identification of the disorder and suggest targets for intervention. Evidence is reviewed from birth cohort, case-control, and familial high-risk studies within distinct periods of development to clarify the nature, timing, and specificity of social deficits in preschizophrenia children and adolescents. The results indicate that poor social functioning does differentiate preschizophrenia children and adolescents from their peers and can be a sensitive and potentially specific predictor of schizophrenia, not just psychopathology in general. Furthermore, age (but not sex) appears to be an important moderator of the strength and specificity of the association between particular social deficits (e.g., externalizing, internalizing) and later schizophrenia. Results are discussed in the context of current developmental theories of timing and pathophysiology of schizophrenia involving hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal dysregulation. Implications for the early identification and treatment of preschizophrenia individuals are also considered. Keywords: schizophrenia, social functioning, prediction, high risk, development

Background: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia have been extensively studied in cross-cultural settings, but research on ethnic differences are currently lacking. Aims: This study examined beliefs about the manifestations, causes and cures of schizophrenia in a multi-ethnic sample from Malaysia. Methods: In this study, 561 Malay, Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun participants rated 72 statements about schizophrenia on a 7-point scale. Results: Results showed that Malaysians tended to favour social-environmental explanations for schizophrenia. There were also ethnic and sex differences in these results. Specifically, Malay participants more strongly agreed that schizophrenia has a social cause, that treatment should affect changes at a societal level, that schizophrenic behaviour is sinful and that mental hospitals do not provide effective treatments. Conclusions: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia may serve different functions for different ethno-cultural groups, which have an influence on help-seeking behaviour. Key words: culture, lay beliefs, Malaysia, schizophrenia

To investigate differences in the content of websites funded, and not funded, by drug companies, the top 50 websites about 'schizophrenia' in Google and Yahoo were analysed in relation to five variables: three scales relating to causes, treatments and violence, and two categorical variables about the condition being extremely severe and about linking coming off medication to violence. Fifty eight percent of the websites analysed received funding from drug companies. Drug company funded websites were significantly more likely to espouse bio-genetic rather than psycho-social causal explanations, to emphasise medication rather than psycho-social treatments, to portray 'schizophrenia' as a debilitating, devastating and long-term illness, and to link violence to coming off medication. They were neither more nor less likely to describe 'schizophrenics' as violent. These results suggest that the documented influence of the pharmaceutical industry over research, professional organisations, teaching institutions, clinical practice and regulatory bodies may now extend to public promotion, via the internet, of perspectives conducive to maximisation of sales. Keywords: Schizophrenia; Pharmaceutical companies; Internet; Websites; Marketing

Semantic priming tasks are classically used to influence and implicitly promote target behaviors. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that prosocial semantic priming modulated feelings of social affiliation. The main aim of this study was to determine whether inducing feelings of social affiliation using priming tasks could modulate nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. We used the Scrambled Sentence Task to prime schizophrenia patients according to three priming group conditions: pro-social, non-social or anti-social. Forty-five schizophrenia patients, diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR, were randomly assigned to one of the three priming groups of 15 participants. We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale. Results showed that schizophrenia patients with pro-social priming had significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients with anti-social and non-social priming conditions. Schizophrenia patient behaviors are affected by social priming. Our results have several clinical implications for the rehabilitation of social skills impairments frequently encountered among individuals with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We aimed to investigate associations between family history of psychosis and long-term occupational, social and global (i.e. combined occupational, social and clinical) outcome in schizophrenia. Method A systematic search to identify potentially relevant studies was conducted using seven electronic databases and a manual search of literature. Only observational studies with a follow-up period of at least 2 years were included. Results The search identified 4081 unique potentially relevant articles, of which 14 met our inclusion criteria. The presence of family history of psychosis was associated with poor occupational and global outcome ( n = 3; r = 0.17; P = 0.008, n = 11; r = 0.13; P = 0.002, respectively). Conclusion This was the first systematic review on the effects of family history of psychosis on occupational and social outcome in schizophrenia. Based on the review, the presence of family history of psychosis has a relatively small but statistically significant association with long-term occupational and global outcome in patients with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Schizophrenia is a disabling psychiatric disorder that usually begins to affect individuals during their adolescence or early adulthood and most patients continue to suffer social, economic, and psychological difficulties from the very onset of the disorder. The neurobiology of the disorder comprises of changes in the brain that can be detected using MR imaging. Focus on the morphological changes in patients with first episode schizophrenia limits the confounding effect of factors such as long-term medication or progression. Therefore, the detected abnormalities are more likely to indicate the primary pathology and the existence of such changes provides the opportunity of applying them for subject recognition based on brain imaging. This paper presents a combination of methods pertaining to automated whole-brain morphometry of MR images and the methods of supervised learning. The designed recognition procedure is successfully used here for classification of 104 subjects into groups of patients and healthy volunteers with the use of k-NN and SVM classifiers. The same algorithm is further used for distinguishing between patients who responded well to treatment and those who did not show adequate symptomatic relief. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The current study explored whether oxytocin can improve social cognition and social skills in individuals with schizophrenia using a six-week, double-blind design. Fourteen participants with schizophrenia were randomized to receive either intranasal oxytocin or a placebo solution and completed a battery of social cognitive, social skills and clinical psychiatric symptom measures. Results showed within group improvements in fear recognition, perspective taking, and a reduction in negative symptoms in the oxytocin group. These preliminary findings indicate oxytocin treatment may help improve certain components of functioning in schizophrenia. Implications for the treatment of social functioning in schizophrenia are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is a lack of biomarkers in schizophrenia and the mechanisms underlying the observed deficits in social functioning are poorly understood. This cohort study aimed to explore whether neurotransmitter neuropeptide Y (NPY) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with schizophrenia is correlated to social function and clinical variables. A further aim was to determine whether baseline levels of NPY were associated with subsequent 3-year outcome. Fifty-six consecutively admitted patients with schizophrenia were included and underwent lumbar puncture and symptom ratings before antipsychotic treatment. NPY levels in CSF were determined by radioimmunoassay. Social function (Social Competence and Social Interest) was assessed by Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation while psychiatric symptoms were rated using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale. Three-year outcome was assessed with the Strauss–Carpenter Outcome Scale. Cross-sectional analysis showed a correlation between level of NPY and Social Competence at index admission (rs =0.37, p <0.05). The longitudinal analysis (i.e. at the 3-year follow-up) indicated that, for each standard deviation increase in baseline NPY, there was an increased risk of being unemployed (odds ratio [OR] 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07–3.82), having moderate or severe symptoms (OR 3.09, CI 1.30–7.32) or being hospitalized at least 6months the previous year (OR 3.24, CI 1.09–9.64). However, NPY was not correlated to Social Interest or clinical variables at index admission. In conclusion, NPY levels in CSF are correlated to Social Competence and seem to predict some aspects of longitudinal outcome in schizophrenia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There is a growing awareness that responses to mental health disorders differ according to the label. Still, research on contact and prejudice against people with mental health disorders has generally focused on the broader label, “mental illness,” as though various disorders were interchangeable. The present research specifically investigated the relationship between intergroup contact and avoidance of people with schizophrenia—a particularly stigmatized and challenging group—as well as mediators of that relationship. In Study 1, 78 students completed measures of their prior contact with and prejudice against people with schizophrenia. Prior contact predicted less desired avoidance of people with schizophrenia, and this relationship was mediated by more favorable attitudes. Study 2 (N= 122) replicated the results of Study 1, and also found that less fear and less intergroup anxiety mediated the relationship between contact and avoidance. This suggests that contact may effectively reduce prejudice, even against this highly stigmatized group. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

El artículo discurre sobre las características transculturales de la esquizofrenia. El autor comenta sobre el tratamiento cultural y social de la enfermedad entre varias sociedades, incluyendo las perspectivas asociadas con los síntomas psicóticos. También se considera el tratamiento de la esquizofrenia entre las civilizaciones indígenas de México, incluyendo los nahuas y los mayas.

El artículo discurre sobre los aspectos etiológicos y fisiopatogénicos de la esquizofrenia. El autor comenta sobre los factores genéticos de la enfermedad y describe los posibles factores ambientales atribuidos a la esquizofrenia. También se considera la influencia familiar y social en la alteración del curso de la enfermedad.

Aim: This cross-cultural study set out to compare the beliefs about the manifestations, causes and treatment of schizophrenia in a similar sample of 95 Nigerian and 76 British (western control) young people in their respective countries. Method: Participants completed a three-part questionnaire that was based on Furnham &Chan (2004) with additional questions. Results: Results revealed differences between the two groups regarding the 'normality' of behaviours associated with schizophrenia. Other than hallucinations, all the behaviours described were considered to be manifestations of schizophrenia more so by the Nigerians than the British. The Nigerians were found not only to agree with supernatural explanations for causes of schizophrenia, as was predicted, but also favoured biological (genetics, neurochemical changes, and brain damage) and sociological explanations more so than the British. Both cultural groups favoured orthodox psychiatric practices and supportive environments as treatments for schizophrenia. However, unlike the British, the Nigerians also recognized religious and traditional practices as possible treatment options for schizophrenia. Conclusions: As predicted, young Nigenans, compared with young British participants, tended to believe more in supernatural and sociological causes of schizophrenia. Key words: beliefs, Britain, causes, manifestations, Nigeria, schizophrenia, treatments.