A study analyzed portrayals of schizophrenia in Swedish media across different platforms—print, web, and broadcast—over the past 20 years, using Retriever’s database to track the terms “schizophrenia” and “schizophrenic.” This comprehensive approach revealed that stigmatizing language was pervasive across all media topics and most types of media, despite no significant trends in the usage of these terms over time. Additionally, the research evaluated the effectiveness of StigmaWatch, an anti-stigma campaign that aimed to educate media professionals on the implications of stigmatizing language and encourage corrective actions.

The findings showed that “schizophrenia” was mentioned 34,141 times and “schizophrenic” 10,058 times in the examined period. Of the 230 media professionals contacted by StigmaWatch, 77 (33%) responded, with most expressing support for the campaign’s goals. Notably, 14% of those who responded took active steps to amend misleading or erroneous descriptions of schizophrenia in their content. These results suggest that while stigmatizing portrayals of schizophrenia are still common, targeted informational campaigns like StigmaWatch can be effective in promoting more accurate and sensitive media representations, thereby potentially reducing stigma.

Reference: Holmberg, Christopher. Schizophrenia in Print, Digital, and Audiovisual Media: Trends, Topics, and Results From an Anti-Stigma Intervention Targeting Media Professionals. Schizophrenia Bulletin Open. 2023. 4. 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgad018.