Examining Spanish-Language News Coverage of Schizophrenia and Psychosis in the U.S

Background: Although public mental health stigma has been well examined among individuals living with schizophrenia and psychosis in the general population, research on Spanish-language news media coverage of these mental disorders among the Latinx population remains limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first attempts to examine Spanish-language news coverage of schizophrenia and psychosis in the United States (U.S.). The aim of this study is to examine how schizophrenia and psychosis are commonly presented in Spanish-language news media focusing on the use of stigmatizing frames (e.g., violence, crime, incompetence), recovery frames, and the use of best practices for reporting on mental health issues (e.g., use of person-first language, including the voices of people with mental illness, providing information of where and how to see mental health care).

Methods: A content analysis was conducted of the portrayal of schizophrenia and psychosis in U.S. Spanish-language news articles over the past 10 years. The searches were conducted systematically by two leading U.S. Spanish-language news outlets (Univision and Telemundo) and a comprehensive newspaper database (U.S. Hispanic Newsstand). The search included the following keywords: Esquizofrenia, Psicosis, and Esquizofrenia o psicosis. The searchers were restricted to news articles published from August 1, 2012, to August 1, 2022. The criteria for selecting the news articles included the following two categories: (a) a news story reporting on the topic of schizophrenia or psychosis, schizophrenia or psychosis treatment, or a person living with schizophrenia or psychosis; and (b) a new story using the word schizophrenia or psychosis in the context of reporting a person living with these conditions or receiving treatment.

Results: A hundred and eight news articles were identified and coded. The presence of all four types of stereotypes (i.e., a person living with schizophrenia or psychosis as violent, suicidal, incompetent, and weak) were found in this study. The study also found that only 18 news articles included one recovery theme. The most common recovery themes were including educational information about schizophrenia or psychosis (18.5%), describing how people with schizophrenia or experiencing psychosis recover or successfully cope with these mental health problems (14.8%), and presenting positive themes of optimism and hope (11.1%). Lastly, in terms of the use of best practices for reporting mental health issues, while few news articles included information on the voices of people living with mental illness, where and how to seek mental health care, and treatment options for schizophrenia or psychosis, most news articles used first-person language when referring to people living with schizophrenia or psychosis.

Implications: Our findings highlight several areas for improvement in Spanish-language news coverage for schizophrenia and psychosis. The U.S. Spanish-language news outlets should include where and how to seek mental health care and treatment options when discussing mental health issues that are linguistically and culturally competent for their viewers. Lastly, more stories focusing on recovery and treatment are needed to combat public mental health stigma in the Latinx population.