Background: Coercion is routinely used in psychiatry. Its benefits and drawbacks are controversially debated. In addition, the majority of persons with mental health problems are exposed to stigmatization and are assumed to be dangerous. Stigmatization is associated with negative consequences for individuals with mental illness such as disapproval, social rejection, exclusion, and discrimination. Being subjected to coercive measures can increase the stigmatization of the affected persons, and stigmatization might lead to higher approval for coercion.Aims of the Study: This study aims to examine the approval for coercive measures in psychiatry by the general public, and to explore its relation with person- and situation-specific factors as well as with stigmatization.Method: We conducted a representative survey of the general population (N = 2,207) in the canton of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. Participants were asked to read a vignette depicting psychopathological symptoms of a fictitious character and indicate whether they would accept coercive measures for the person in the vignette. Desire for social distance and perceived dangerousness were assessed as measures of stigmatization.Findings: The person in the case vignette exhibiting dangerous behavior, showing symptoms of a psychotic disorder, being perceived as dangerous, and treatment being understood as helpful increased approval of coercion in general, while familiarity of the respondents with mental illness decreased approval.Conclusions: The public attitude regarding the approval of coercion in psychiatry is highly differentiated and largely follows the current legal framework and medical treatment guidelines. Higher approval occurred in situations of self-harm or harm to others and when coercive measures were thought to have a beneficial effect for the affected persons. A considerable part of the approval for coercion is predicted by stigmatization. With the increasing severity of coercive measures, the influence of person- and situation-specific factors and of familiarity with mental illness decreased and generalizing and stigmatizing attitudes became stronger predictors for the approval of more severe measures.

There has been little research exploring the relationship between personality traits, self-esteem, and stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental disorders. Furthermore, the mechanisms through which the beholder’s personality influence mental illness stigma have not been tested. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between Big Five personality traits, self-esteem, familiarity, being a healthcare professional, and stigmatization. Moreover, this study aims to explore the mediating effect of perceived dangerousness on the relationship between personality traits and desire for social distance. We conducted a vignette-based representative population survey (N = 2207) in the canton of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. Multiple regression analyses were employed to examine the associations between personality traits, self-esteem, familiarity, and being a healthcare professional with the desire for social distance and perceived dangerousness. The mediation analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro by Hayes. Analyses showed associations between personality traits and stigmatization towards mental illness. Those who scored higher on openness to experience (β = − 0.13, p < 0.001), (β = − 0.14, p < 0.001), and those who scored higher on agreeableness (β = − 0.15, p < 0.001), (β = − 0.12, p < 0.001) showed a lower desire for social distance and lower perceived dangerousness, respectively. Neuroticism (β = − 0.06, p = 0.012) was inversely associated with perceived dangerousness. Additionally, high self-esteem was associated with increased stigmatization. Personal contact or familiarity with people having mental disorders was associated with decreased stigmatization. Contrarily, healthcare professionals showed higher perceived dangerousness (β = 0.04, p = 0.040). Finally, perceived dangerousness partially mediated the association between openness to experience (indirect effect = −  .57, 95% CI [− .71, − 0.43]) as well as agreeableness (indirect effect = − 0.57, 95% CI [− 0.74, − 0.39]) and desire for social distance. Although the explained variance in all analyses is < 10%, the current findings highlight the role of personality traits and self-esteem in areas of stigma. Therefore, future stigma research and anti-stigma campaigns should take individual differences into consideration. Moreover, the current study suggests that perceived dangerousness mediates the relationship between personality traits and desire for social distance. Further studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of such relationship. Finally, our results once more underline the necessity of increasing familiarity with mentally ill people and of improving the attitude of healthcare professionals towards persons with mental disorders.

Background: Psychiatric patients are subjected to considerable stigmatization, in particular, because they are considered aggressive, uncontrollable, and dangerous. This stigmatization might influence the approval of coercive measures in psychiatry by the public and healthcare professionals and might have an influence on the clinical practice of coercive measures. We examined whether the general approval of coercive measures for psychiatric patients with dangerous behaviors differs from case-specific approval. Method: We conducted a representative survey of the general population (n = 2207) in the canton of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. In total, 1107 participants assessed a case vignette depicting a fictitious character with a mental illness and indicated whether they would accept coercive measures (involuntary hospitalization, involuntary medication, and seclusion) for the person in the vignette. It was explicitly stated that within the last month, the fictitious character displayed no dangerous behavior (Vignette ND) or dangerous behavior (Vignette D). Another 1100 participants were asked whether they would approve coercive measures (involuntary hospitalization, involuntary medication, and seclusion) for psychiatric patients with dangerous behavior in general (General D), i.e., without having received or referring to a specific case vignette. Findings: The logistic regression model containing all variables explained 45% of the variance in approval of any type of coercive measures. Assessment of case vignettes without dangerous behavior (Vignette ND) was associated with significantly reduced approval of coercive measures compared to assessment of a case vignette with dangerousness (Vignette D), while approval for coercive measures in a person with mental health disorder with dangerous behavior in general (General D) was significantly higher than for the case vignette with dangerousness. Conclusions: The general approval of coercive measures for people with mental disorders seems to differ depending on if the respondents are asked to give a general assessment or to examine a specific and detailed clinical case vignette, indicating an increased role of stigmatization when asking about generalized assessments. This may contribute to diverging findings on the acceptance of coercive measures in the literature and should be considered when designing future studies.

In the original article, there was an error in the number of participants.A correction has been made to Methods, Samples and Procedures, paragraph two.The original text "Data from 11,095 participants who had received the clinic vignette could not be entered in the current analyses, as rating approval of coercion for the fictitious character was differently operationalized in their questionnaire" has been changed to "Data from 1,095 participants who had received the clinic vignette could not be entered in the current analyses, as rating approval of coercion was differently operationalized in their questionnaire."The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.

Zusammenfassung Studienziel Die Haltung der Allgemeinbevölkerung in Basel gegenüber dem Einsatz von Zwangsmaßnahmen zu evaluieren. Dies vor dem Hintergrund, dass Zwangsmaßnahmen indirekt u. a. von der allgemeinen Stigmatisierung von Menschen mit psychischen Erkrankungen, der Haltung der Öffentlichkeit und dem jeweiligen sozialen Netzwerk gesteuert werden. Methodik Antworten von 1,112 Personen aus einer repräsentativen Bevölkerungsbefragung im Kanton Basel-Stadt wurden ausgewertet. Die Teilnehmenden erhielten schriftliche Fallvignetten und Fragebögen, in denen die Akzeptanz der Zwangsmaßnahmen «Zwangseinweisung», «Zwangsmedikation» und «Zwangsisolation» erfragt wurde. Ergebnisse Beim Vorliegen der Symptome einer psychotischen Störung befürworteten 31,5% mindestens eine Zwangsmassnahme, bei Symptomen einer Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörung (22,0%) und einer Alkoholabhängigkeit (20,7%) war die Akzeptanz geringer. Insgesamt war die Ablehnung von Zwangseinweisungen und Zwangsmaßnahmen in der Basler Bevölkerung ausserordentlich hoch. Die differenzierte Einschätzung des Einsatzes von Zwangsmaßnahmen durch die Basler Bevölkerung entsprach den medizinethischen Leitlinien im Umgang mit diesen Störungsbildern. Schlussfolgerung Die Haltung der Öffentlichkeit dürfte indirekten Einfluss auf die lokale Anwendung von Zwangsmaßnahmen haben und sollten in den psychiatrischen Fachdiskurs einbezogen werden.