Background: Although there is evidence of greater stigmatization of schizophrenia in comparison to depression, there has been little investigation of the reasons for this difference.
Aims: To examine the role of beliefs about depression and schizophrenia in mediating the difference in preferred social distance towards individuals with these two disorders.
Methods: In Study I, 200 undergraduates completed questionnaires concerning beliefs about depression or schizophrenia and willingness to interact with an individual who has one of the two disorders. In Study II, 103 members of a community service club completed similar measures.
Results: For both samples, beliefs about likely appropriateness of social behaviour showed evidence of mediating differences in preferred level of social distance. In addition, differences in perceived danger may have been a mediator for the undergraduate sample and perceived prognosis for the service club respondents.
Conclusions: Beliefs about social appropriateness, danger and prognosis, which have implications for likely costs and benefits of interaction, are more likely to mediate differences in social distance towards the disorders than beliefs concerning causation or continuity with normal experience.