There have been significant milestones in the detection and treatment of most psychiatric disorders, especially in the past two decades. However, there are some concerns about media misrepresentation of severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia. A postal survey of the UK public was conducted in order to examine their understanding of the term ‘schizophrenia’.

We distributed 500 questionnaires to a representative panel of the UK general population recruited for a previous study (Reference Luty, Fekadu and UmohLuty et al, 2006) and received 402 completed replies (81% response rate). Participants were asked the open-ended question ‘What do you understand by the term “ schizophrenia”?’ and 42% described at least one Schneiderian first-rank symptom or gave a description that reasonably matched one of the diagnostic features in ICD–10. This included 26% who described auditory hallucinations; 40% mentioned ‘split’ or ‘ multiple’ personality, which is not a diagnostic feature. Only 6% mentioned violence or aggression. In comparison, 73.6% of participants correctly identified the symptoms of schizophrenia from a series of vignettes in a Swiss study (Reference Lauber, Nordt and FalcatoLauber et al, 2003). Our survey reveals some wide gaps between the professional and public understanding of the term ‘schizophrenia’.