Newspaper coverage of mental illness in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2012: impact of introduction of a new Chinese name of psychosis

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.