Effect of familiarity and knowledge about epilepsy on associated cultural stereotypes in French society

Abstract

People with epilepsy face stigma that impacts numerous aspects of their daily lives. Although the stigma surrounding people with epilepsy has been extensively documented, the mechanisms underlying it—such as cultural stereotypes—remain to be explored. Cultural stereotypes are widely shared beliefs within a cultural context about attributes typically associated with members of a particular group. This study, conducted within French society, has two primary objectives: 1) to define the content of cultural stereotypes associated with people suffering from epilepsy and 2) to examine how familiarity and knowledge about epilepsy influence these stereotypes.

To explore these stereotypes, a free association task was conducted across three cultural groups (n = 96): (1) the general population, with low familiarity and knowledge about epilepsy (n = 39); (2) healthcare professionals without epilepsy specialization, who have more familiarity and knowledge than the general population (n = 38); and (3) healthcare professionals specialized in epilepsy, who have the highest familiarity and knowledge of the three groups (n = 29). All participants held higher education qualifications to ensure a more homogeneous socio-cultural background across groups. Using the software program “IraMuTeQ”, we analyzed the diversity of terms each group associated with “people with epilepsy.” Additionally, we examined the valence and typicality of cultural stereotypes in each group.

The results reveal that, regardless of familiarity and knowledge levels, cultural stereotypes linked to epilepsy are generally negative. Across the entire sample, the most prototypical associations with people with epilepsy included “madness,” “possession,” “tongue,” and “intellectual deficiency.” The general population shares some cultural stereotypes with non-specialized healthcare professionals (e.g., “photosensitivity”), while non-specialized professionals share other associations with specialized healthcare professionals (e.g., “intellectual deficiency” and “mental illness”). However, no overlap was found between the cultural stereotypes of the general population and those of healthcare professionals specialized in epilepsy. Stereotypes related to epilepsy appear to be less typical among healthcare professionals compared to the general population. This distinction between cultural stereotypes and personal beliefs is further discussed below. Considering cultural stereotypes may allow for more tailored and effective interventions to reduce epilepsy-related stigma by addressing specific socio-cultural groups. Further research within a cross-cultural approach is recommended to deepen these findings.