Hiroyuki Inadomi

Effects of an educational program on public attitudes towards mental illness

Abstract  The World Psychiatric Association promotes global anti‐stigma programs. However, evaluation research is crucial to developing effective programs. The present study examined the effects of a lecture on mental health on public attitudes towards mental illness. Subjects were recruited from individuals employed by private companies and the government. Attitudes towards mental illness were measured using the Mental Illness and Disorder Understanding Scale developed by the authors and the Scale of Negative Attitudes Towards the Independence of People with Mental Disorders. Test scores obtained before and after the lecture were compared. The results demonstrated that scores on both scales improved significantly. The present study suggests the effectiveness of this type of educational program in reducing stigma attached to mental illness and disorder.

Caregiver burden and coping strategies for patients with schizophrenia: Comparison between Japan and Korea

Aim:  With the current shift to community‐centered mental health services, considerable research on the family burden of caring for patients with schizophrenia has been conducted in developed countries. However, there has been no investigation of families with Japanese or Korean sociocultural backgrounds. Therefore, the present study compared the caregiver burden and coping strategies of families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan and Korea in order to elucidate similarities and differences in the sociocultural factors that affect the care experience of families in Northeast Asia.

Evaluating stigma against mental disorder and related factors.

Abstract  This study attempted to identify forms of stigma against individuals with mental disorders and related factors. The subjects comprised 2632 people living in the area covered by the K health center in N prefecture. Factor analysis of the Mental Disorder Prejudice Scale (1211 valid responses) identified three factors: ‘rejection’, ‘peculiarity’ and ‘human rights alienation’. Regression analysis revealed that age, welfare activities, an active problem‐solving attitude, lecture attendance, and previous contact, exerted independent effects with respect to ‘rejection’. These results suggest the importance of disseminating accurate information and creating more opportunities for people to have meaningful interactions with people with mental disorders in order to dispell the stigma.

Evaluating community attitudes to people with schizophrenia and mental disorders using a case vignette method

Abstract  Utilizing the case vignette method, community attitudes about people with schizophrenia and mental disorders, and perceived causes of and images regarding schizophrenia were investigated. Participants comprised 1596 respondents living in the area covered by the K health center in N prefecture. The survey utilized the Mental Disorder Prejudice Scale, a case vignette, and other basic attributes. The case vignette survey yielded the following results: when asked about a landlord refusing to rent an apartment to the vignette subject, approximately 80% of respondents agreed with the landlords decision. However, when asked about necessary conditions for the vignette subject to live in an apartment independently, only 2.4% of respondents chose ‘difficult under any circumstance’. Approximately half of the respondents chose the following conditions: ‘periodic visits to the hospital’, ‘availability of a system where people can discuss and address any problems that might arise’ and ‘attending a sheltered workshop or making attempts to rehabilitate’. Regarding acceptance as a neighbor after meeting the listed conditions, most respondents stated they would ‘treat him just like any other neighbor’ (47.3%), followed by ‘help as much as possible in times of need’ (36.3%). In other words, approximately 80.0% of respondents were willing to have the vignette subject as their neighbor. In addition, many respondents thought that schizophrenia is caused by problems in interpersonal relationships (64.8%) and represents an unstable disease (69.9%). When asked about having the subject as a neighbor, respondents were more willing to accept him as a neighbor after clarifying conditions for living arrangements.

Personal stigma and coping strategies in families of patients with schizophrenia: Comparison between Japan and Korea

Introduction: It has been extensively documented that caregivers of persons who have serious and persistent mental disorders must successfully cope with many challenging problems in order to provide good care. However, little is known about the relationship between family stigma and strategies for coping with patients with schizophrenia. Therefore, the present study compared the personal stigma and coping strategies of families of patients with schizophrenia by examining the socio‐cultural factors that affect the care experience of families in Northeast Asian countries.

Characteristics of trees drawn by patients with paranoid schizophrenia

Abstract The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia subtype and morphological characteristics of trees drawn in the Baum test. Subjects comprised the following three groups: 20 patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia according to International Classification of Diseases (10th revision; ICD‐10) criteria; 26 patients with non‐paranoid schizophrenia according to ICD‐10 criteria; and 53 healthy individuals. Differences in psychiatric symptoms as assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score were compared between patients with paranoid and non‐paranoid schizophrenia. In addition, differences in two morphological characteristics of trees, namely trunk‐to‐crown ratio and trunk end opening, were compared between the three groups. No differences in psychiatric symptoms were identified between patients with paranoid and non‐paranoid schizophrenia. Conversely, mean ± SD trunk‐to‐crown ratio was 13.1 ± 8.0 for patients with non‐paranoid schizophrenia, 8.8 ± 4.6 for patients with paranoid schizophrenia, and 5.4 ± 3.4 for healthy individuals. Significant differences were identified between all three groups. Furthermore, mean trunk end opening was 0.80 ± 0.7 for patients with paranoid schizophrenia, 0.38 ± 0.6 for patients with non‐paranoid schizophrenia, and 0.06 ± 0.3 for healthy individuals. Again, significant differences were apparent between all three groups. These findings suggest that morphological differences in trees drawn in the Baum test can be observed between the two schizophrenia subtypes in terms of not only psychopathological interpretation, but also gestalt formation, as assessed on the basis of trees with collapsed gestalt or with some degree of gestalt. This suggests the possibility of multiple disorders at a physiological level. The present study confirmed that the Baum test can quantitatively assess facets of schizophrenia that existing scales such as BPRS are unable to analyze, and is useful for investigating brain function in patients with schizophrenia.

Clear distinction between preattentive and attentive process in schizophrenia by visual search performance

Visual information-processing deficits were investigated in patients with schizophrenia using visual search tasks. Subjects comprised 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 normal subjects. Visual search tasks were modified from those used previously to reveal more distinct differences between feature and conjunction search tasks. The presentation area of items in the present study was more than double the area used in our previous study [Mori, S., Tanaka, G., Ayaka, Y., Michitsuji, S., Niwa, H., Uemura, M., Ohta, Y., 1996. Preattentive and focal attentional processes in schizophrenia: a visual search study. Schizophrenia Research 22, 69-76], and items were distributed over the area randomly in each trial to produce a certain range of locational jitter for each item across trials that prevented a matrix-like presentation of items at fixed positions [Mori, S., Tanaka, G., Ayaka, Y., Michitsuji, S., Niwa, H., Uemura, M., Ohta, Y., 1996. Preattentive and focal attentional processes in schizophrenia: a visual search study. Schizophrenia Research 22, 69-76]. The target was a red square, and distractors were red circles in the feature search task and red circles and green squares in the conjunction search task. Slopes and intercepts of a linear function relating reaction times to set size were computed. In the feature search task, slopes for both groups were almost zero. In the conjunction search task, significant differences in slopes were seen between the two groups irrespective of target presence or absence. Moreover, the slopes were approximately twice as steep during target absence as during target presence. These results indicate more definitively than the results of our previous study [Mori, S., Tanaka, G., Ayaka, Y., Michitsuji, S., Niwa, H., Uemura, M., Ohta, Y., 1996. Preattentive and focal attentional processes in schizophrenia: a visual search study. Schizophrenia Research 22, 69-76] that patients with schizophrenia have deficits in focal attentional processing, although their preattentive processing functions at a normal level.

Family stigma and care burden of schizophrenia patients: Comparison between Japan and Korea

Introduction: In the present study, we compared the care burden and stigma experienced by families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan (Niigata) and Korea (Seoul and Daegu) to elucidate similarities and differences in the sociocultural factors that affect the care experience of families in East Asia.

Efficacy of 3-year psychiatric daycare treatment in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract  The present study investigated the efficacy of a 3‐year psychiatric daycare (DC) program with regard to psychiatric symptoms and difficulties with daily living experienced by patients with schizophrenia. The subjects were 28 patients who met the diagnostic criteria from the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for schizophrenia and continued DC treatment for 3 years. The present study assessed participants at two points: at the start of DC and after 3 years, by evaluating socioeconomic factors and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores. In addition, in order to measure difficulties with daily living, the Life Assessment Scale for the Mentally Ill (LASMI) and the Etoh Daycare Assessment Scale (ETODAS) developed at the Etoh Hospital, were used. Results indicated that no significant changes in socioeconomic factors or BPRS scores occurred during the 3‐year period of DC treatment. However, over this period, mean scores (± standard deviation [SD]) for LASMI subcategories decreased from 1.6 ± 0.8 points to 0.9 ± 0.7 for daily living and from 1.7 ± 0.8 to 1.2 ± 0.7 for interpersonal relations, indicating significant improvement (P < 0.05). In addition, mean scores (±SD) for the ETODAS subcategories increased from 3.4 ± 0.8 to 4.1 ± 0.8 for expressiveness, from 3.3 ± 0.9 to 4.0 ± 0.8 for communication, from 3.1 ± 0.6 to 3.6 ± 1.0 for initiative within a group, and from 3.4 ± 0.5 to 3.8 ± 0.7 for cooperation in work activities, indicating significant improvement (P < 0.05). The present study suggests that DC can enable patients with schizophrenia to maintain their condition without worsening the psychiatric symptoms, and to improve their daily living skills, social skills in human relations, and work skills.

Family stigma and care burden of schizophrenia patients: Comparison between Japan and Korea (Asia-Pacific Psychiatry 1, 3, (120-129))

The author would like to draw the reader’s attention to an error in the following article: Setsuko Hanzawa, Jeong-Kyu Bae, Hideki Tanaka, Goro Tanaka, Yong Jun Bae, Masahiro Goto, Hiroyuki Inadomi, Yasuyuki Ohta, Hideyuki Nakane & Yoshibumi Nakane. Family stigma and care burden of schizophrenia patients: Comparison between Japan and Korea. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 1 (3) 120–129. Under the Reference list it reads: Hanzawa S., TanakaG., InadomiH., et al. (2008)Burden and coping strategies in mothers of patients with schizophrenia in Japan: burden in mothers of patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 62, 256–263. The reference should have read: Hanzawa S., TanakaG., InadomiH., et al. (2008)Burden and coping strategies in mothers of patients with schizophrenia in Japan. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 62, 256–263. Under Acknowledgement, the first sentence reads: The present study was conducted as part of the research project Process of Change in Burden of Care in Family Members of Patients with Schizophrenia and Issues for Mental Health Professionals, which was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) (C) (19592603) (2007–2009) from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The first sentence under Acknowledgement should have read: The present study was conducted as part of the research project ‘‘Socio-cultural and natural-environmental factors related to the burden for families of patients with schizophrenia’’, which was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) (C) (19592603) (2007–2009) from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The author apologizes for the errors and any confusion it may have caused.