Previous studies have suggested that public beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness may be influenced by country-specific social and cultural factors.

This study aimed to carry out a national survey to assess people's beliefs and stigmatizing attitudes toward schizophrenia and major depression in Taiwan.

We randomly recruited participants aged 20–65 (n = 1600) in Taiwan, using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing. Participants were presented with a case vignette for major depression and schizophrenia. Questions were asked about causal attributions, emotional reactions, and social distance of individuals afflicted by psychosis or depression.

In respect of causal attributions, respondents were more concerned with the likelihood of biogenetic explanations for schizophrenia as compared with depression. The same applied to other explanations such as god's willingness and being possessed or haunted. In contrast, psychosocial factors were more likely to be endorsed as a cause of depression than as a cause of schizophrenia. For perceived dangerousness, significantly more respondents considered schizophrenia likely to be violent toward others and to be unpredictable. In terms of emotional reactions, respondents were significantly more likely to express anger or fear for schizophrenia vignette. A similar pattern was shown for the social distance, where respondents were also significantly less likely to express a willingness to contact people suffering from schizophrenia within different social relationships.

The findings from this study may enhance our knowledge of community beliefs and stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders in Taiwan and highlight the importance of understanding these issues in context.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.