How Movies Shape Attitudes Towards Individuals with Schizophrenia: Examining Relationships Between Entertainment Experience and Stigmatization

• In Event: Entertainment Media and Health Communication

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of watching a movie about schizophrenia on recipients’ attitudes towards affected individuals. While media portrayals of mental illnesses are known to shape public stigma, the role of narrative-specific processes such as transportation, enjoyment, and appreciation remained largely unclear so far. Thirty-one female students watched a movie portraying schizophrenia. Stigma-related attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia were assessed one week before watching the movie, directly after, and one week later using standardized scales. Narrative-specific processes were measured directly after watching the movie. Twenty students who did not watch the movie served as control group. Analyses revealed no significant differences between both groups. Within the viewer group, however, narrative-specific processes indirectly evoked positive and negative changes in attitudes. Findings indicate that not only the accuracy of movies, but particularly triggered narrative processes are crucial to understand the cultivation potential of movies for stigmatization and de-stigmatization.

Authors

• Alexander Roehm, TU Dortmund University

• Matthias R. Hastall, TU Dortmund U

• Ute Ritterfeld, TU Dortmund U