This study hypothesized that CB and the PoS to a person with schizophrenia are related to reduced SD. Moreover, increased PoS was expected to be associated with higher CB. The association of PoS and reduced SD was expected to be mediated by higher CB. All postulated hypotheses could be approved pointing out that (1) PoS and CB are important predictors of reduced SD from a person with schizophrenia and (2) CB only partially mediate the association between increased PoS and reduced SD.

Empirical investigations testing the impact of CB on the stigma of schizophrenia often concluded that CB are low as it is difficult to identify with someone who experiences symptoms of schizophrenia [3, 18]. However, Schlier et al. [16] tested the validity of the continuum concept about the existence of schizophrenia revealing that CB about schizophrenia seems to be independent from someone’s individual proneness to experience psychotic symptoms. Reasons why PoS and CB were associated with reduced SD might lie within the process of recategorization of a former outgroup member as an ingroup member which was enabled through identification with aspects of a person apart from psychiatric symptoms (also see [4]). Thereby, the PoS might offer an important explanation why people are generally able to generate CB about schizophrenia.

However, the mediating role of CB in the relation of PoS and SD might point out that people with an increased PoS to a person with schizophrenia have generally higher CB which parallels the first part of the CB item “Basically we are all sometimes like this person” [17]. Still, the relationship between increased PoS and reduced SD is only partially mediated by CB pointing out that besides social perception, information processing around the belief in a continuum of symptoms matters too [15].

Limitations of this study should be mentioned. First, to investigate interrelations of CB, PoS, and stigma, we used unlabeled case-vignettes, while reactions to labeled vignettes or persons might differ. Second, interviews were conducted online, which gives respondents great freedom as to when, where, and how they partake in the study. Hence, attention checks have been inserted in the survey which led together with a high drop-out to an overall exclusion of almost half of all participants. Third, we conducted an observational study yielding for associations and mediation models with no inclusion of an experimental design.

Besides this study, empirical evidence from Violeau et al. [19] suggests that pointing out similarities, more than differences, and increasing continuum beliefs while decreasing categorical beliefs matters for schizophrenia-related stigma reduction. Hence, providing holistic case descriptions including the description of regular living situations, human characteristics (e.g., hobbies, daily routines, working situation), and a change in symptom severity might be a way to increase PoS and CB to people with schizophrenia. Upcoming anti-stigma campaigns should include tasks which foster engagement with case descriptions through endorsing similarities apart from psychiatric symptoms and include continuum beliefs’ intervention to increase the theoretical plausibility of the belief in symptom continuity.