Abstract
Stigma associated with schizophrenia has been found to negatively impact the communication a schizophrenic individual has with others in face-to-face interactions, but the negative effect on computer-mediated communication has not been fully explored. Four hundred and fourteen participants interacted with a hypothetical target on Facebook, who was believed to have either depression, schizophrenia, or a cavity (i.e., the control group). Results indicated that participants rejected the target labeled as schizophrenic more than the targets without mental illness or labeled as depressive. The mental illness stigma effect on rejection was partially mediated by a low predicted outcome value attached to the schizophrenic target. Further, the target with schizophrenia received more rejecting messages than accepting messages. However, there was not a significant difference between the frequency of rejecting messages and that of the accepting messages the depressed target received. Theoretical and practical contributions were considered.
