Aim: In Hong Kong, 'si-jue-shi-tiao' () was officially adopted as the Chinese translation of psychosis in 2001. The new term covered a broader aspect of psychosis, compared with the original term, 'jing-shen-fen-lie' (), which gave a negative stereotype as a 'mental split-mind disorder'. The current study compared the usage of the two terms, and added evidence to the name changing as anti-stigma strategy.
Methods: The usage and themes of the new Chinese name of psychosis 'si-jue-shi-tiao' was examined in 1217 local newspaper articles in comparison with the traditional Chinese name of schizophrenia 'jing-shen-fen-lie'.
Results: Results show that an increase use of 'si-jue-shi-tiao' was found equally across themes, whereas 'jing-shen-fen-lie' was decreasingly used in positive/neutral themes over time. The association of 'jing-shen-fen-lie' with dangerous wordings increased over time, but no change was found with the new name.
Conclusions: Our finding adds to literature on effects of changing new name on public stigma.
Keywords: newspapers; psychotic disorders; schizophrenia; social stigma; stereotyping.
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