The Use of Person-Centered Language in Scientific Research Articles Focused on Psychosis

Societal stigma of psychosis leads to delayed treatment for individuals experiencing early symptoms, for fear of being labeled "crazy" or "psychotic." Delayed treatment can worsen the prognosis of individuals with psychosis. Proper adherence to person-centered language (PCL) guidelines can curb the widely held stigmatized preconceptions about psychotic conditions.

Our meta-epidemiological analysis began with a systematic search of literature in PubMed discussing psychosis from 2020-2022. From the 14,522 results, we randomly selected 500 articles in journals with at least 20 articles on psychosis (n=9,775), of which 241 articles met the inclusion criteria. These papers were screened for the usage of stigmatized language; article characteristics were also noted for further analysis.

Our analysis revealed that 53.1% of articles screened included stigmatized language. The most common stigmatized phrase identified was "schizophrenia patient," found in 35.3% of papers. "Schizophrenic [patient/subject/etc]" and "psychosis patient" were each found in 12.4% of papers. The type of intervention (ie, pharmacologic, therapeutic, or observational) was the only variable that was found to be significant for PCL usage (P = 0.006).

The majority of medical articles screened did not adhere to PCL guidelines. The usage of stigmatized language in literature reinforces the use of these labels in medical education, doctor's offices, and popular culture. Given the impact of stigma on treatment delay - and the poor prognosis that may result - proper care should be taken to enforce PCL in medical literature. Reducing the fear of labeling is a necessary step in encouraging treatment for people experiencing early symptoms of psychosis.