Symposia
Schizophrenia / Psychotic Disorders
Amy G. Weisman de Mamani, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida
Merranda M. McLaughlin, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of Miami
MIAMI BEACH, Florida
Salman S. Ahmad, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of Miami
Miami, Florida
Daisy Lopez, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of Miami
Miami Beach, Florida
Genesis Saenz, BA
grad student
U. of Miami
miami, Florida
Alex Piquero, Ph.D.
Professor
U. of Miami
Miami, Florida
Maha McCain, MFA
Adjunct Professor
U. of Miami
Miami, Florida
One in four fatal police encounters involve a person with schizophrenia or a related serious mental illness (SMI; Fuller, Lamb, Biasotti, & Snook, 2015). The study that will be presented in this talk was aimed at better understanding factors that are associated with police officer stigma towards people with schizophrenia that may lead officers to approach this population more aggressively. Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is regularly implicated as a potential risk factor for abusive behavior and has been linked with racial prejudice (Larsson, Björklund, & Bäckström, 2012). Therefore, it is plausible that RWA may also be associated with greater police stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia. Alternatively, a growing body of research indicates that when officers believe they are viewed positively and legitimately by the public (perceived audience legitimacy), they view citizens more benignly and are inclined towards more democratic approaches to policing. Extrapolating from these findings, in a sample of 107 police officers, the current study, tested the hypotheses that greater right wing authoritarianism (measured with the short version of the Right Wing Authoritarianism Scale) and lower perceived audience legitimacy (measured with the Audience Legitimacy Scale and Citizen Animus Scale) would be associated with greater stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia (measured with a modified version of the Day’s Mental Illness Stigma Scale that focuses only on schizophrenia stigma). Results of a multiple regression analysis indicated partial support for study hypotheses, F=5.141, p=.007, R2=.089. Greater police RWA was indeed associated with greater stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia (beta =. 283; p=.004). However, perceived audience legitimacy was not related to schizophrenia stigma by police (beta =.052; p=.589). Study findings suggest that police reform efforts that directly and indirectly target attitudes associated with right wing authoritarianism (such as the view that citizens should have unquestioning respect for and submission to authority) may be an important first step in reducing stigma toward people with schizophrenia and related disorders and may ultimately lead to safer practices when police officers interact with individuals with SMI. In this talk, qualitative data will also be presented, that examiners officers’ own thoughts on police violence towards those with SMI and their insights on how to go about reducing it.