[An error of the educated--split personality and schizophrenia]
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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Julia Borsche1, Georg Schomerus, Herbert Matschinger
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig.
Objective:
Among the public schizophrenia is often thought to denote split personality. Our aim is to identify factors influencing the prevalence of this error. METHODS In a representative population survey in Germany (n=5,025), respondents received an open question about their associations with the word schizophrenia and a closed question how strongly they agree that split personality is a symptom of the disease.
Results:
27% associated split personality with schizophrenia, 67.4% agreed this being a symptom. Higher education was associated with answering/endorsing split personality in both questions. Familiarity with mental illness and living in the old German Laender increased unprompted mention of the concept.
Conclusion:
Mistaking schizophrenia for split personality is an error of the well-educated that is not favourably altered by familiarity with mental illness. Targeting this misconception seems to be difficult and could necessitate a new illness denomination.
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