Four stigma profiles found among 407 Chinese patients with schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia in a Chinese hospital sample experienced perceived stigma in four different patterns, according to a latent profile analysis of 407 people recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Henan Province. The largest group, comprising 57.0% of participants, had moderate perceived stigma. A high-discrimination, high-disclosure-concern profile accounted for 19.8%, while 15.0% had low discrimination and low disclosure concern but also low positivity toward mental illness. The remaining 8.2% had low perceived stigma and preserved positive aspects of mental illness.

The observational study used purposive sampling and included patients recruited between November 2025 and May 2026. Investigators collected general demographic and clinical information through a questionnaire. Perceived stigma was measured with the Chinese version of the Stigma Scale for Mental Illness, while interpersonal sensitivity was assessed with the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure. The researchers used perceived discrimination, concern about disclosure, and positive aspects of mental illness as indicators in latent profile analysis conducted with Mplus 8.3. Univariate analyses and multinomial logistic regression were then used to examine factors associated with membership in the identified profiles.

Interpersonal sensitivity was associated with a higher probability of belonging to the high-discrimination, high-disclosure-concern profile. Each one-unit increase in the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure score corresponded to 10.5% higher odds of membership in that group, with an odds ratio of 1.105 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.065 to 1.146. Longer illness duration was also associated with greater odds of this profile membership: the reported odds ratio was 3.622, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.739 to 7.543. The supplied study summary does not state the unit or scale used for illness duration, so this estimate should not be interpreted as an annual increase in risk.

Hospitalization was linked to profile membership in the opposite direction. Patients hospitalized for more than three months had lower odds of belonging to the high-discrimination, high-disclosure-concern group than the reference category, with an odds ratio of 0.324 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.160 to 0.658. These are associations reported by the statistical model, not evidence that interpersonal sensitivity, illness duration, or hospitalization caused a particular pattern of perceived stigma. The analysis also does not establish that the four profiles represent statistically distinct classes beyond the profile solution selected by the researchers.

The results show substantial variation in perceived stigma among the sampled patients rather than a uniform pattern. The study’s authors concluded that the findings support profile-specific assessment and may inform more differentiated stigma-related nursing strategies. However, the research was limited to a purposively sampled group from one tertiary psychiatric hospital in one Chinese province, and the observational design cannot determine whether the identified demographic and clinical factors produce the profiles. The findings therefore describe associations within the recruited population and do not demonstrate clinical benefit, causal relationships, or how widely the profile pattern applies to people with schizophrenia in other settings.

Subject of Research: Perceived-stigma profiles and their correlates among patients with schizophrenia

Article Title: The relationship between perceived stigma and interpersonal sensitivity in patients with schizophrenia: a latent profile analysis

Article References: Dong, J., Chen, X., Cui, W., Xing, B., Ruan, C., Wu, M., Wang, L., Yan, F., & Zhang, D. (2026). The relationship between perceived stigma and interpersonal sensitivity in patients with schizophrenia: a latent profile analysis. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05824-4

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05824-4

Keywords: schizophrenia, perceived stigma, latent profile analysis, interpersonal sensitivity, mental discrimination, disclosure concern, illness duration, hospitalization, psychiatric nursing, China, relationship, between