According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people globally. The global prevalence in adults is approximately 1 in every 222 persons, with a range of 0.4–0.7% (WHO, 2022). In recent years, this disorder has been recognized as a public health issue due to the increase in diagnoses and its individual, interpersonal, community, and institutional implications. In 2021, the Secretaría de Salud in Mexico estimated that more than one million people are affected by this condition (Escamilla-Orozco et al., 2021). Stigmatization and discrimination in psychotic disorders and other mental illnesses represent a significant burden for individuals and their families (Van Dorn et al., 2006). From an anthropological perspective, stigmatization is defined as a set of discriminatory attitudes such as labeling, exclusion, and marginalization, leading to stereotypes and social status loss that hinder social recovery and integration (Garro, 2004; Van Dorn et al., 2006).
The main goal of research in mental health within cognitive anthropology is to understand how non-experts as well as experts, articulate beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, etc. for elaborate conceptions of illness, and how these conceptions are inextricably situated within social and cultural contexts. These socio-cultural conceptions influence medical decisions, perceptions of the condition, and the application of specific treatments (Garro. 2004); that is why they affect or are involved in certain cognitive processes such as prediction, counterfactual reasoning, and causal explanations. In this regard, these conceptions are based on structures known as intuitive theories (Gerstenberg and Tenenbaum, 2017). These are sets of beliefs about the causes and relationships that constitute domains such as the biological, psychological, or mental world.
Studies based on the conceptualization of intuitive theories have focused on exploring the beliefs that non-experts hold regarding the etiology, treatments, as well as the cure or chronicity of mental illnesses (Furnham, 2017; Furnham and Buck, 2003; Furnham and Carter-Leno, 2012; Furnham et al., 2011; Furnham and Winceslaus, 2011; Nunnally, 1961). According to the domain-specific hypothesis, these intuitive theories can develop from a single domain, such as the biomedical domain, psychosocial, and/or sociocultural domains, or they can integrate information from two or more knowledge areas, thus forming a cross-domain model (Lynch and Medin, 2006; Maupin, 2015). Within this framework, the biomedical model (Lynch and Medin, 2006) conceptualizes schizophrenia as a disturbance of physiological processes. Some theories associated with this model are based on domains such as genetics, dopaminergic systems, autoimmune and viral diseases, and neurological aspects (Zoch, 2002).
The psychosocial model (Lynch and Medin, 2006; Kleinman et al., 1978) argues that various social factors influence emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses, describing the hybrid nature of disorders. The theories linked to this model include the hyperactivation theory, the theory of over-perception, the theory of the schizophrenogenic mother, the theory of developmental failure, and the psychological theory of the self (Zoch, 2002).
The sociocultural model (Kleinman et al., Medina-Mora et al., 2021; Jenkins and Barrett, 2006) asserts that social and cultural determinants closely relate to how symptoms are experienced, behavioral expressions, and beliefs explaining causes. It primarily draws on culturally derived language. The theories associated with this model include anomalous family roles, the theory of abnormal communication, the influence of social class, and the theory of cultural change (Zoch, 2002). Lastly, the psychoanalytic model (Fenichel, 1996) posits that individuals with schizophrenia are agents capable of meaningful acts that suggest intentions, motives, or reasons. This model aligns with the hybrid nature of disorders. The theories supporting this model currently include the theory of psychic structures and the theory of reactions to life events (Fenichel, 1996).
Intuitive theories are characterized by the knowledge domain to which they belong, as well as the type of assumptions that experts and non-experts make to explain various mental health issues. Analyzing the causal elements that compose different models is useful for uncovering the intuitions underlying diverse epistemological frameworks in expert contexts, determining the degree of influence exerted by exposure to different explanatory frameworks (Lych and Medin, 2006).
Two important antecedents in the study of causal explanatory models in the field of health, are those of Lynch and Medin (2006) and Maupin (2015). Both evaluate how biomedical training and belief systems typical of different sociocultural contexts influence explanatory frameworks of the diseases. The second emphasized that causal characteristics, albeit from different domains, are not independent of each other, and proposed that the analysis of interactions is useful for discovering the intuitions underlying the various epistemological models.
In this study, Maupin's work was used as a reference. By reconstructing the causal networks of explanatory models of schizophrenia for four groups of experts and non-experts, we described the characteristics and trends for each group. Taking into account the distinction between domain-specific and cross-domains about intuitive theories, we hypothesized that psychiatrists and psychoanalysts would have domain-specific explanatory models of schizophrenia. Specifically, explanations endorsed by both groups of experts would focus on a particular area of knowledge: psychiatrists on the biomedical model and psychoanalysts on the psychoanalytic model. The second hypothesis was that psychologists would tend to exhibit a cross-domain structure in their explanatory models, with a predominance of psychosocial and biomedical models. The third hypothesis assumed that non-experts would also have a cross-domain explanatory model, but instead of psychologist, without predominance of any single model, and rather a blend or synthesis of them all. These assumptions are based on mental health specialists' explanatory models being shaped within academic contexts that provide systematic training. The causal relationships they establish among varied factors acquire coherence and justification from explaining the mechanisms underlying cause-effect relationships. In contrast, non-experts, by appropriating elements from different causal theories, intuitively intertwine causal links without necessarily focusing on justifying the underlying causal mechanisms. This more intuitive and less systematic appropriation of causal theories about mental illness leads to the formation of more holistic explanatory models. Drawing on information from diverse non-specialized sources and/or individual experiences with diagnosed individuals, where sociocultural characteristics also play a fundamental role. To analyze all these hypotheses, a non-experimental, non-probabilistic, cross-sectional, comparative study with a mixed-methods approach was conducted.