Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Stigma and discrimination toward mental illness: translation and validation of the Italian version of the attribution questionnaire-27 (AQ-27-I)

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to translate the Attribution Questionnaire-27 (AQ-27) to the Italian language (AQ-27-I), and to examine the reliability and validity of this new Italian version.

Methods

The questionnaire was translated using the standard translation/back-translation method. Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass coefficients were used to estimate instrument reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to corroborate the original English version factor structure in the new measure, and to establish validity. Path analyses were meant to validate relationships found in the English version among Italian-speaking participants.

Results

The AQ-27-I demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.82 for the total scale and ranging between 0.52 and 0.91 for the subscales. The test–retest reliability was also satisfactory, with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.72 for the total scale and ranging between 0.51 and 0.89 for the subscales. Fit indices of the model supported the factor structure and paths.

Conclusions

The AQ-27-I is a reliable measure to assess stigmatizing attitudes in Italian.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Marwaha S, Johnson S (2005) Views and experiences of employment among people with psychosis: a qualitative descriptive study. Int J Soc Psychiatry 51:302–316

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Baumann A (2007) Stigmatization, social distance and exclusion because of mental illness: the individual with mental illness as a ‘stranger’. Int Rev Psychiatry 19:131–135

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. El-Badri S, Mellsop G (2007) Stigma and quality of life as experienced by people with mental illness. Australas Psychiatry 15:195–200

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Halter M (2008) Perceived characteristics of psychiatric nurses: stigma by association. Arch Psychiatr Nurs 22:20–26

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Vauth R, Kleim B, Wirtz M, Corrigan P (2007) Self-efficacy and empowerment as outcomes of self-stigmatizing and coping in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 150:71–80

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Yap MB, Wright A, Jorm AF (2010) The influence of stigma on young people’s help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. doi:10.1007/s00127-010-0300-5

  7. Mojtabai R (2010) Mental illness stigma and willingness to seek mental health care in the European Union. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45(7):705–712

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Norman RM, Sorrentino RM, Gawronski B, Szeto AC, Ye Y, Windell D (2010) Attitudes and physical distance to an individual with schizophrenia: the moderating effect of self-transcendent values. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45(7):751–758

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Corrigan P, Thompson V, Lambert D, Sangster Y, Noel Jm Campbell J (2003) Perceptions of discrimination among persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatr Serv 54:1105–1110

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Link B, Phelan J (2001) Conceptualizing stigma. Ann Rev Sociol 27:363–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Corrigan PW, Watson AC (2002) Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World Psychiatry 1(1):16–20

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Weiner B (1995) Judgment of responsibility: a foundation for a theory of social conduct. Guilford press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  13. Edwards JM, Endler NS (1989) Appraisal of stressful situations. Personal Individ Differ 10(1):7–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Paterson RJ, Neufeld RW (1987) Clear danger: situational determinants of the appraisal of threat. Psychol Bull 101:404–416

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Fung KM, Tsang HW, Chan F (2010) Self-stigma, stages of change and psychosocial treatment adherence among Chinese people with schizophrenia: a path analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45(5):561–568

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Corrigan P, Green A, Lundin R, Kubiak M, Penn D (2001) Familiarity with and social distance from people who have serious mental illness. Psychiatr Serv 52:953–958

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Angermeyer MC, Matschinger H (2004) The stereotype of schizophrenia and its impact on discrimination against people with schizophrenia: results from a representative survey in Germany. Schizophr Bull 30(4):1049–1061

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Crisp A (2000) Changing minds: every family in the land. An update on the College’s campaign. Psychiatric Bull 24:267–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Handikappombudsmannen (2000) The Psyke Campaign—a concluding evaluation by the Swedish Disability. Ombudsman, Stockholm

    Google Scholar 

  20. Hocking B (2003) Reducing mental illness stigma and discrimination—everybody’s business. Med J Aust 178:S47–S48

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Association WorldPsychiatric (1998) Open the doors: WPA global program to reduce stigma and discrimination because of schizophrenia. World Psychiatric Association, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  22. Sartorius N, Schulze H (2005) Reducing the stigma of mental illness. A report from a Global program of the World Psychiatric Association. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  23. World Health Organization (2005) Stigma and discrimination against the mentally ill in Europe. Briefing for the WHO Ministerial Conference on Mental Health. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  24. Schulze B (2007) Stigma and mental health professionals: a review of the evidence on an intricate relationship. Int Rev Psychiatry 19:137–155

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Jorm AF, Griffiths KM (2008) The public’s stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders: how important are biomedical conceptualizations? Acta Psychiatr Scand 118(4):315–321

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Lincoln TM, Arens E, Berger C, Rief W (2008) Can antistigma campaigns be improved? A test of the impact of biogenetic vs psychosocial causal explanations on implicit and explicit attitudes to schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 34(5):984–994

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Buizza C, Schulze B, Bertocchi E, Rossi G, Ghilardi A, Pioli R (2007) The stigma of schizophrenia from patients’ and relatives’ view: a pilot study in an Italian rehabilitation residential care unit. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health 3:23

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Magliano L, Fiorillo A, De Rosa C, Malangone C, Maj M (2004) Beliefs about schizophrenia in Italy: a comparative nationwide survey of the general public, mental health professionals, and patients’ relatives. Can J Psychiatry 49:322–330

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Magliano L, De Rosa C, Fiorillo A, Malangone C, Guarneri M, Marasco C, Maj M (2004) Beliefs of psychiatric nurses about schizophrenia: a comparison with patients’ relatives and psychiatrists. Int J Soc Psychiatry 50:319–330

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Buizza C, Pioli R, Ponteri M, Vittorielli M, Corradi A, Minicuci N, Rossi G (2005) Community attitudes towards mental illness and socio-demographic characteristics: an Italian study. Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc 14(3):154–162

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Magliano L, Marasco C, Guarneri M, Malangone C, Lacrimini G, Zanus P, Maj M (1999) A new questionnaire assessing the opinions of the relatives of patients with schizophrenia on the causes and social consequences of the disorder: reliability and validity. Eur Psychiatry 14(2):71–75

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Bhugra D (1989) Attitudes towards mental illness. A review of the literature. Acta Psychiatr Scand 80:1–12

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Link B, Mirotznik J, Cullen F (1991) The effectiveness of stigma coping orientations: can negative consequences of mental illness labelling be avoided? J Health Soc Behav 32:302–320

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Wolff G, Pathare S, Craig T, Leff J (1996) Public education for community care. A new approach. Br J Psychiatry 168:441–447

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Byrne P (1997) Psychiatric stigma: past, passing and to come. J R Soc Med 90:618–621

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Corrigan P, Markowitz F, Watson A, Rowan D, Kubiak M (2003) An attribution model of public discrimination towards persons with mental illness. J Health Soc Behav 44:162–179

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Weiner B (1988) Attribution theory and attributional therapy: some theoretical observations and suggestions. Br J Clin Psychol 27:99–104

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Link B, Cullen F (1986) Contact with the mentally ill and perceptions of how dangerous they are. J Health Soc Behav 27:289–302

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Martin JK, Pescosolido BA, Tuch S (2000) Of Fear and loathing: the role of disturbing behaviour, labels, and casual attributions in shaping public attitudes toward people with mental illness. J Health Soc Behav 41:208–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Corrigan P, Rowan D, Green A, Lundin R, River P, Uphoff-Wasowsky K, White K, Kubiak M (2002) Challenging two mental illness stigmas: personal responsibility and dangerousness. Schizophr Bull 28:293–309

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Corrigan P, Watson A, Warpinski A, Gracia G (2004) Stigmatizing attitudes about mental illness and allocation of resources to mental health services. Community Ment Health J 40:297–307

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Corrigan P, Lurie B, Goldman H, Slopen N, Medasani K, Phelan S (2005) How adolescents perceive the stigma of mental illness and alcohol abuse. Psychiatr Serv 56:544–550

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (2008) Indicatori socio-demografici. http://dati.istat.it/

  44. Magliano L, Fadden G, Madianos M, De Almeida J, Held T, Guarneri M, Marasco C, Tosini P, Maj M (1998) Burden on the families of patients with schizophrenia: results of the BIOMED I study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 33:405–412

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Piccinelli M, Politi P, Barale F (2002) Focus on psychiatry in Italy. Br J Psychiatry 181:538–544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that there are no financing arrangements or payments that might be considered a conflict of interests related to the present paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, International Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Policlinico di Modena, 71 Via del Pozzo, 41124, Modena, MO, Italy

    Luca Pingani

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Policlinico di Modena, 71 Via del Pozzo, 41124, Modena, MO, Italy

    Matilde Forghieri, Silvia Ferrari, Paolo Artoni, Fausto Mazzi & Marco Rigatelli

  3. Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, Dartmouth Medical School, Rivermill Commercial Center, 85 Mechanic Street, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA

    Dror Ben-Zeev

  4. Thresholds Research Institute, 4101 N. Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL, 60613, USA

    Dror Ben-Zeev

  5. Villa Igea Hospital, 73 Strada Stradella, 41126, Modena, MO, Italy

    Gaspare Palmieri

  6. Institute of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3424 S. State Street, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Patrick W. Corrigan

Authors
  1. Luca Pingani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matilde Forghieri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Silvia Ferrari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dror Ben-Zeev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paolo Artoni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Fausto Mazzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Gaspare Palmieri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Marco Rigatelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Patrick W. Corrigan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Pingani.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pingani, L., Forghieri, M., Ferrari, S. et al. Stigma and discrimination toward mental illness: translation and validation of the Italian version of the attribution questionnaire-27 (AQ-27-I). Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47, 993–999 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0407-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0407-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation