Media reporting of specific mental illnesses in the context of crime: implications for mental health literacy

To the Editor: Mental health literacy of the general public is suboptimal, and knowledge and attitudes about some mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and substance use disorders, are particularly poor.1 The media have been implicated in contributing to overall low levels of mental health literacy, with studies showing that mental illness is commonly portrayed negatively and linked with crime.2,3 However, few studies have considered whether particular mental illnesses are especially likely to be “framed” in the context of crime.