Stigma and explanatory models among people with schizophrenia and their relatives in Vellore, South India

Background: Stigma associated with mental illness affects patients and their families. Diverse beliefs about the cause and treatment of schizophrenia are common among patients and their relatives. Aim: To study the association between stigma and beliefs about illness in patients and their relatives. Method: Standard instruments were used to assess beliefs about illness and about stigma among patients with schizophrenia and relatives in Vellore, south India. Results: The majority of the patients and their relatives simultaneously held multiple and contradictory models of illness and its treatment. Stigma among patients with schizophrenia and their relatives is associated with specific beliefs about causes of mental illness. Conclusions: Beliefs may play a role in mitigating or may aggravate the effects of stigma. The cross-sectional study design precludes definitive conclusions on direction of the causal association.