Background: Internalized stigma negatively affects lives and prognosis of individuals with psychosis.
Aim: This study aimed to identify correlates of internalized stigma among individuals with psychosis in a sample of community care users in the Czech Republic.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 133 community service users with psychosis. A shortened version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI-10) scale was used alongside the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L), assessing health-related quality of life. Descriptive and linear regression analyses were performed in order to determine levels of internalized stigma and its correlates.
Results: High levels of internalized stigma were reported in 25% of participants. Lower internalized stigma levels were associated with better self-reported health status and being married, and higher internalized stigma with a longer period of time since initial contact with psychiatric care.
Conclusion: Lower internalized stigma levels are associated with better self-reported health-related quality of life. In addition, clients having used psychiatric care for longer periods of time reported significantly higher internalized stigma levels. Therefore, authors suggest self-stigma reduction interventions based in a community setting with an emphasis on targeting clients with chronic psychosis.
Keywords: CZEPOS; Internalized stigma; community care setting; correlates; psychosis.