Is the Nature of and Threshold for Psychiatric Stigma Different between Developed and Developing Countries?

The WPA has embarked over the last several years on a programme to challenge stigma associated with schizophrenia in both developed and developing countries. It is the objective of this programme to have both a common core strategy and a common resource data base. However, there is also an unusual commitment to encourage and support developing countries to utilize local knowledge and methods in generating their own culturally congenial anti-stigma initiatives. This paper summarizes what developed countries can learn from developing countries in order to diminish stigma associated with mental disorders, elaborating on a prior study (1).