Lay beliefs about the causes and cures of schizophrenia (original) (raw)
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Beliefs About Illness of Patients with Schizophrenia
Journal of Postgraduate Medical Institute, 2015
Objective: To elicit the beliefs and perception of patients with schizophrenia about their illness by using Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI). Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in the department of psychiatry, Lady Reading Hospital. One hundred and three patients of schizophrenia were included in the study. Short explanatory model Interview (SEMI) was used to assess the explanatory model of illness of the sample. Four major areas covered in SEMI were “Concept” i.e., naming the illness, “Cause”, “Treatment Choice” i.e., help seeking behaviour, and “Severity” of the illness. Results: Mean age of the sample was 30.52 ± 9.41 years. Regarding Concept, 34(33%) patients who although couldn’t name any but attributed their condition to mental illness. The major response to the cause for the development of schizophrenia was stress of social issues by 22(23.30%) patients. A total of 56(54.3%) patients reported a combination of medication & spiritual healer to be the ...
Psychiatry Research, 2007
This study is set to examine the British (in England) and Chinese (in China and Hong Kong) beliefs about the causes, behaviour manifestations and treatments of schizophrenia. It was hypothesised that first the Chinese would hold more religious and superstitious beliefs towards the causation and treatment of schizophrenia and would prefer the use of alternative medicine; second, the British would emphasise more on internal (biological and psychological) and external (sociological) beliefs for the causes and treatments. It was also predicted that the Chinese would possess more negative attitudes and beliefs about the behaviour manifestations of schizophrenia than the British. All three hypotheses were confirmed after factor analysing the internal structure of the questionnaire. The relevance between investigating beliefs of schizophrenia and treatment of psychiatric disorders for clinical practice is also highlighted.
2004
Background: This study set out to compare British and Chinese young people's beliefs about the manifestations, causes and cures of schizophrenia. Method: A total of 339 participants completed a 60-item questionnaire to compare lay theories of schizophrenia between British (in England) and Chinese (in Hong Kong) participants. The participants completed the three-part questionnaire in their mother tongue looking at beliefs about schizophrenia in general, causal explanation for the aetiology of schizophrenia and optimal cures for the condition.
Differences in etiological beliefs about schizophrenia among patients, family, and medical staff
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
Objectives: To determine whether etiological beliefs are different among schizophrenia patients, their family, and medical staff. Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at five hospitals and one mental clinic and included 212 patients, 144 family members, and 347 medical staff other than psychiatrists. A questionnaire about the possible etiological causes of schizophrenia was used. Results: There were significant differences in response scores among the three groups on using Angermeyer's and Goulding's classifications. Factor analyses revealed the following four subscales: Psychosocial, Biological, Environmental, and Cultural connotations. The structure varied among patients, family, and medical staff. Conclusion: The perspectives of schizophrenia etiology were different among patients, family, and medical staff.
Religious Beliefs in Schizophrenia: Their Relevance for Adherence to Treatment
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2007
The study examined how religious beliefs and practices impact upon medication and illness representations in chronic schizophrenia. One hundred three stabilized patients were included in Geneva's outpatient public psychiatric facility in Switzerland. Interviews were conducted to investigate spiritual and religious beliefs and religious practices and religious coping. Medication adherence was assessed through questions to patients and to their psychiatrists and by a systematic blood drug monitoring. Thirty-two percent of patients were partially or totally nonadherent to oral medication. Fifty-eight percent of patients were Christians, 2% Jewish, 3% Muslim, 4% Buddhist, 14% belonged to various minority or syncretic religious movements, and 19% had no religious affiliation. Two thirds of the total sample considered spirituality as very important or even essential in everyday life. Fifty-seven percent of patients had a representation of their illness directly influenced by their spiritual beliefs (positively in 31% and negatively in 26%). Religious representations of illness were prominent in nonadherent patients. Thirty-one percent of nonadherent patients and 27% of partially adherent patients underlined an incompatibility or contradiction between their religion and taking medication, versus 8% of adherent patients. Religion and spirituality contribute to shaping representations of disease and attitudes toward medical treatment in patients with schizophrenia. This dimension should be on the agenda of psychiatrists working with patients with schizophrenia.
BMC Public Health
Background: A wide variety of beliefs exist in the public towards schizophrenia. Community perception about the causes of schizophrenia can affect the way of seeking help, treatment outcomes, and community integration of individuals with schizophrenia. Therefore, assessing the community perception and associated factors about the causes of schizophrenia is vital. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Feresbet district residents through a multi-stage sampling technique. A causal model questionnaire for schizophrenia (CMQS) was used to assess the perceived causes of schizophrenia. The collected data were explored to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bi-variable and multi variable logistic regression were computed to identify factors associated with the traditional perception about the causes of schizophrenia and the level of significance were determined at a Pvalue < 0.05 with 95% CI. Results: Out of the total study participants, about 73.7% had the traditional perception regarding the causes of schizophrenia. According to multivariate analysis, female sex, no formal education, age ≥ 25 years, living in the extended family system, and being unemployed had a significant association with the traditional perception of the cause of schizophrenia. Conclusions: The traditional perception of the cause of schizophrenia is higher than the bio-psycho-social view. Female sex, no formal education, age ≥ 25 years, living in an extended families and unemployed had a significant association with the traditional perception of the causes of schizophrenia. Therefore, giving special attention to females, uneducated and unemployed individual is crucial. In addition, older age and individuals living in extended family system need attention regarding the possible causes of schizophrenia.
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 2017
Aims. To identify the common causal beliefs of mental illness in a multi-ethnic Southeast Asian community and describe the sociodemographic associations to said beliefs. The factor structure to the causal beliefs scale is explored. The causal beliefs relating to five different mental illnesses (alcohol abuse, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), dementia and schizophrenia) and desire for social distance are also investigated. Methods. Data from 3006 participants from a nationwide vignette-based study on mental health literacy were analysed using factor analysis and multiple logistic regression to address the aims. Participants answered questions related to sociodemographic information, causal beliefs of mental illness and their desire for social distance towards those with mental illness. Results. Physical causes, psychosocial causes and personality causes were endorsed by the sample. Sociodemographic differences including ethnic, gender and age differences in causal beliefs were found in the sample. Differences in causal beliefs were shown across different mental illness vignettes though psychosocial causes was the most highly attributed cause across vignettes (endorsed by 97.9% of respondents), followed by personality causes (83.5%) and last, physical causes (37%). Physical causes were more likely to be endorsed for OCD, depression and schizophrenia. Psychosocial causes were less often endorsed for OCD. Personality causes were less endorsed for dementia but more associated with depression. Conclusions. The factor structure of the causal beliefs scale is not entirely the same as that found in previous research. Further research on the causal beliefs endorsed by Southeast Asian communities should be conducted to investigate other potential causes such as biogenetic factors and spiritual/supernatural causes. Mental health awareness campaigns should address causes of mental illness as a topic. Lay beliefs in the different causes must be acknowledged and it would be beneficial for the public to be informed of the causes of some of the most common mental illnesses in order to encourage help-seeking and treatment compliance.
Perceptions and Beliefs about Mental Illness (Schizophrenia) among Adults in Zaare Community
The burden of mental illness like schizophrenia is increasing and is particularly severe for people living in rural communities. Ghana adopted a community-based rehabilitation (CBR) for persons with mental illness to address the problem comprehensively. However, negative attitudes towards the mentally ill, stigmatization and discrimination constitute a serious barrier to CBR. The objective of the study was to assess societal beliefs and perceptions about people with schizophrenia, among the adult population in a rural community (Zaare) in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The study used a mixed method where both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed. A sample size was determined using a systematic approach. The respondents held fairly positive views about the mentally ill, despite a few negative authoritarian and socially restrictive attitudes and views. Though participants appeared to be knowledgeable about the possible physical, social and environmental causes of mental illness such as accidents and genetic factors, 94% of all participants thought mental illness could be due to witchcraft/evil spirits, and 66% felt that it could be a consequence of divine punishment. This is an indication that stigma and discrimination against the mentally ill were still widespread among the respondents. The widespread belief in supernatural causes is likely to act as a barrier to designing effective anti-stigma educational programmes and as a result frustrating the implementation of CBR. There is a need in the Bolgatanga Municipality and elsewhere to develop strategies to change stigma attached to mental illness at both the rural and urban community levels. This paper is one of the first to report to be made on attitudinal research on mental illness in the Bolgatanga Municipal area and the Zaare community.
A comparison of academic and lay theories of schizophrenia.
1992
Abstract This study investigated lay subjects' theories of schizophrenia. A questionnaire examining the five identified main academic theories of schizophrenia (medical, moral-behavioural, social, psychoanalytic, and conspiratorial) along various dimensions (aetiology, behaviour, treatment, function of the hospital, and the rights and duties of both patients and society) was constructed for use in the study.