Using Twitter to Assess Stigma to Schizophrenia and Psychosis: A Qualitative Study.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate stigmatizing attitudes towards schizophrenia among Turkish Twitter users.

Methods: In the study designed with the qualitative research method, the tweets containing the keywords "schizophrenia", "schizophrenic", "psychotic" and "psychosis" in Turkish on Twitter were collected using the Knime program. The main themes and sub-themes were created by content analysis.

Results: The studies revealed three major themes: "insult", "negative point of view", and "anti-stigma". While the sub-themes of "swearing" and "mocking" were determined under the main theme of "insult", the sub-theme of "false beliefs" was determined under the theme of "negative point of view", and the sub-themes of "medically appropriate" and "defensive" were determined under the main theme of "antistigma". In the results, it was determined that the word schizophrenia was commonly used to humiliate others and used as a way of addressing with slang words or to mock and that there were stigmatizing statements revealing negative feelings and thoughts in such a way that they would be inconsistent with medical information.

Conclusion: The results of this study can be used to develop programs to combat stigma against schizophrenia disorder and to determine content.