Kuramochi Izumi, Kerkhoff Denny, Nakashima Takahiro, Iwayama Takayuki, Kobayashi Sayaka, Mayer Axel, Yoshimasu Haruo
Department of Psychiatry, Saitama Medical Center Saitama Medical University Saitama Japan.
Department of Psychology and Sports Science University of Bielefeld Germany.
PCN Rep. 2025 May 1;4(2):e70099. doi: 10.1002/pcn5.70099. eCollection 2025 Jun.
This study aimed to identify factors influencing perceived social distance from epilepsy, depression, panic disorder, and schizophrenia in Japan, with a focus on informing targeted stigma-reduction strategies.
We conducted face-to-face interviews with 103 participants, gathering data on sociodemographic factors, attitudes using the Japanese version of the Scales of Attitudes toward People with Epilepsy (SAPE-J), and perceived social distance via visual analog scales (VASs). To identify significant predictors for each condition, we applied multiple linear regression analyses and rigorously validated the models through diagnostic checks.
Our analysis revealed that epilepsy was perceived as the most distant condition ( = 6.11), while depression was perceived as the closest ( = 4.03). We identified distinct predictors for each condition: belief in epilepsy's treatability had a marginally significant effect ( = 0.203, = 0.064), higher education was strongly associated with reduced perceived social distance for depression ( = -0.283, = 0.006), and witnessing an epileptic seizure significantly increased perceived social distance for panic disorder ( = 0.285, = 0.012) and schizophrenia ( = 0.298, = 0.011).
We demonstrate that perceptions of social distance are condition-specific and shaped by unique factors, such as beliefs, education, and personal experiences. We advocate for tailored stigma-reduction approaches, emphasizing the treatability of epilepsy and addressing misconceptions about unpredictability in mental health conditions. Our findings provide a foundation for fostering social inclusion and advancing public understanding of these conditions.
本研究旨在确定影响日本民众对癫痫、抑郁症、恐慌症和精神分裂症感知到的社会距离的因素，重点是为有针对性的减少污名化策略提供信息。
我们对103名参与者进行了面对面访谈，收集社会人口统计学因素、使用日本版癫痫患者态度量表（SAPE-J）的态度数据，以及通过视觉模拟量表（VAS）感知到的社会距离数据。为了确定每种疾病的显著预测因素，我们应用了多元线性回归分析，并通过诊断检查对模型进行了严格验证。
我们的分析显示，癫痫被认为是社会距离最远的疾病（=6.11），而抑郁症被认为是最接近的（=4.03）。我们确定了每种疾病的不同预测因素：对癫痫可治愈性的信念有微弱显著影响（=0.203，=0.064），高等教育与抑郁症感知社会距离的降低密切相关（= -0.283，=0.006），目睹癫痫发作显著增加了恐慌症（=0.285，=0.012）和精神分裂症（=0.298，=0.011）的感知社会距离。
我们证明，社会距离的感知因疾病而异，并由信念、教育和个人经历等独特因素塑造。我们提倡采用量身定制的减少污名化方法，强调癫痫的可治愈性，并消除对心理健康状况不可预测性的误解。我们的研究结果为促进社会包容和增进公众对这些疾病的理解奠定了基础。
