Perceptions of Schizophrenia in Forensic and General Adult Settings
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Illness Perceptions in Schizophrenia: A survey and comparison of patients and carers’ views of schizophrenia in forensic and general adult psychiatry settings.
IRAS ID
140821
Contact name
Emma Wall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
South West London and St George's NHS Trust
Research summary
In recent years there has been greater awareness of the importance of the perceptions that patients and carers have of illness and how this affects coping, distress, engagement and outcome (Moss Morris et al, 2002; Leventhal et al, 1997). Leventhal developed a common-sense model of self-regulation of health and illness and proposed that representations that people have of illness have five components, namely identity, consequences, timeline, control/cure and cause (Leventhal, 1984, 1997)
Illness perceptions have been investigated in individuals with severe mental health problems, including schizophrenia and early psychosis, where beliefs, particularly those relating to treatment control and consequences, have been associated with quality of life, engagement with treatment, and outcome (Lobban, Barrowclough and Jones, 2004; Theodore et al, 2012; Freeman et al 2013).
There is limited research that considers the illness perceptions of patients with schizophrenia and their carers within a forensic setting. Those who have both committed serious offences and experience severe mental illness may feel doubly stigmatised and isolated from wider society. This could result in perceptions of schizophrenia being more negative for both patients and their carers in forensic services than in general adult psychiatry populations.
This study will explore the perceptions of schizophrenia of patients and their carers in a forensic psychiatry setting and compare them to those in general adult psychiatry settings. Participants will be asked to complete either patient or carer versions of the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia (IPQS), a reliable and validated measure of illness perceptions. Patients will be recruited from local inpatient and community services and consent sought to contact their carer/relative to invite them to participate in the study. Differences between perceptions of schizophrenia in forensic and general adult settings may inform the need for new management strategies that incorporate patient and carer’s views of illness.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1810
Date of REC Opinion
24 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion