The representations of patients with psychotic disorders in Thai online news discourse: a critical discourse analysis

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the representations of patients with psychotic disorders in Thai online news discourse through linguistic devices using the approach of critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995). The data were collected from Thairath, Khaosod and Matichon online newspapers in 2024, 208 articles. The notions of social actor (van Leeuwen, 1996) and transitivity (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014) were adopted to analyze linguistic devices in the texts. The findings reveal the press emphasizes the negative representations of patients with psychotic disorders (94.15%) more than the positive representations (5.86%). Representations of patients with psychotic disorders appearing in Thai online newspapers are divided into two aspects: 1) Personality and traits: patients with psychotic disorders as dangerous people because they have unpredictably violent and aggressive behavior leading to crimes, patients with psychotic disorders as people who have mental disorder, psychotic symptoms, lack continuous treatment, and have a history of heavy drug abuse, patients with psychotic disorders as ungrateful people who harm their benefactors, and patients with psychotic disorders as people who have the ability to turn themselves back into normal or good people in society. 2) Social and economic status: patients with psychotic disorders as a difficult problem to solve and a burden on society, and patients with psychotic disorders as working class, poor, and disadvantaged. The social factors that are related to the representations of patients with psychotic disorders are current Thai social conditions, medical concepts about psychotic disorders, laws, and the thoughts and attitudes of people in Thai society. It is found that the press emphasizes and presents certain aspects of the “unusualness” of patients with psychotic disorders to attract readers which is considered a “selling point” for the news report. However, these representations of patients with psychotic disorders may contribute to stigmatization and stereotype of patients with psychotic disorders which affects the misperception about patients with psychotic disorders among readers.