Identifying youth as 'at risk' for mental problems may be less a stigma than the symptoms

Little is known about the potential harm inherent in labeling young people at risk for schizophrenia. A study finds that those identified as at clinical risk described feeling stigmatized by the symptoms that led them to seek help to a stronger degree than the risk label. The study is the first to address the separate effects of symptoms and labeling on stigma in young people identified as at clinical high risk for psychotic disorders.