[The public attitudes towards schizophrenia in a rural area in Turkey].

Objective: To determine the public's attitude about schizophrenia and its related factors in a rural population.

Methods: This study was carried out in a village of Manisa. Of the 245 subjects which met the inclusion criteria, 230 subjects were reached and 208 of them constituted the sample of this study. The subjects filled out the sociodemographic information form and the 32-item subscale for schizophrenia of a public survey form which was developed by Psychiatric Research and Education Center.

Results: Of the 208 subjects, 76.3% appraised the schizophrenia as an illness, 62.0% considered it as a mental disease, 76.9% noted that social problems were the most frequent etiological factor, 66.8% denoted that the patient should consult with a psychiatrist for the treatment, 61.5% indicated that they would feel uncomfortable with a neighbor with schizophrenia, 61.1% declared that they didn't want to work with anyone with schizophrenia.

Conclusion: The majority of subjects in rural population recognize the schizophrenia as a mental disease. Social problems are determined as the first-rank etiological factor by the subjects. The public has an adequate knowledge about the treatment of schizophrenia. However they hesitate to apply to psychiatric treatment because of the fear of stigmatisation. The public has a reluctant attitude in becoming close to the patients and has a rejective attitude in keeping a certain distance with the patients. The sociodemographic factors do not seem to have any influence on the attitudes towards the schizophrenia.