The Relationship between Genetic Attributions, Genetic Essentialist Biases, and Stigma of Schizophrenia

Belief in genetic etiology has been associated with schizophrenia stigma. This investigation examined whether genetic essentialist biases moderated the relationship between genetic attributions for schizophrenia and public stigma (e.g., social distance, prognostic pessimism, etc.). At higher levels of essentialist thinking, a genetic attribution for schizophrenia more strongly predicted stigmatizing attitudes.