Cross-cultural study of religious phenomenology in psychiatric in-patients

Religiosity and religious delusions in schizophrenia - An observational study in a Hindu population

BACKGROUND

Religion exerts a significant effect on the lives of many individuals including people with mental illness. As evidences keep accumulating, role of religion in mental illness is gaining importance.

OBJECTIVES

The study was designed to study the effects of religiosity on religious delusions, its presentation, acute course and outcome in schizophrenia.

METHOD

The study was a naturalistic observational study. Subjects with schizophrenia were grouped into those with religious (RG) and with non-religious delusions (NG). Their premorbid religiosity was assessed with Brief Multi-dimensional measurement of Religiosity/spirituality (BMMRS) and were rated on Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Brown's Assessment of Belief Scale (BABS) and Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) at baseline and 4 weeks.

RESULTS

Scores on private religious practices, baseline scores of SAPS, BABS & PANSS and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) were significantly higher for RG in comparison to NG. On component analysis, higher scores were seen on private praying, watching religious programs on TV, reading religious books and prayers at meals. But no significant correlation was found between the private religious practices and the baseline scores of (DUP), SAPS, BABS, PANSS and outcome measure. Also no significant difference was noted in measures of improvement between groups.

CONCLUSION

Private religious practices are more prominent in patients of schizophrenia with religious delusions and this group of patient seems to present with a more severe illness, and a longer duration of untreated psychosis in comparison to those with non-religious delusions.

Religious psychopathology: The prevalence of religious content of delusions and hallucinations in mental disorder

BACKGROUND

Religious themes are commonly encountered in delusions and hallucinations associated with major mental disorders, and the form and content of presentation are significant in relation to both diagnosis and management.

AIMS

This study aimed to establish what is known about the frequency of occurrence of religious delusions (RD) and religious hallucinations (RH) and their inter-relationship.

METHODS

A review was undertaken of the quantitative empirical English literature on RD and RH.

RESULTS

A total of 55 relevant publications were identified. The lack of critical criteria for defining and classifying RD and RH makes comparisons between studies difficult, but prevalence clearly varies with time and place, and probably also according to personal religiosity. In particular, little is known about the content and frequency of RH and the relationship between RH and RD.

CONCLUSION

Clearer research criteria are needed to facilitate future study of RD and RH, and more research is needed on the relationship between RD and RH.

Religious delusions: finding meanings in psychosis

BACKGROUND

Religious delusions have been reported with varying prevalence from cultures around the world. Their contents, context and significance vary according to cultural and economic mores. In this review we discuss the potential relationship between religious delusions and aspects of culture, in particular religious symbols. We suggest that religious rituals and expectations of the family play a major role in the genesis and maintenance of delusions. We consider the roles of religious signifiers in the formation and maintenance of these important phenomena.

SAMPLING AND METHODS

Evidence relating to the clinical significance of religious delusions is reviewed. The real clinical significance of religious delusions varies from violence to others to self-harm. The implications of these issues are discussed in relation to their management.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

It is argued that there should be a reassessment of the importance of religious delusions in the light of new ethnographic and clinical evidence.

Sintomas de conteúdo religioso em pacientes psiquiátricos

INTRODUÇÃO: Vários trabalhos têm identificado a importância da religiosidade na vida pessoal, nas relações sociais, nas atitudes e representações relacionadas a saúde e doença, assim como na composição dos sintomas psiquiátricos. Poucos estudos empíricos em nosso meio têm investigado as relações entre religiosidade e perfil psicopatológico. OBJETIVO: O presente trabalho visa avaliar fatores socioculturais e sintomas psicopatológicos gerais associados à presença e intensidade de sintomas com conteúdos religiosos ou místicos. MÉTODO: Foram estudadas 200 internações consecutivas na unidade psiquiátrica da Unicamp (Universidade Estadual de Campinas). As escalas de avaliação de sintomas psicopatológicos foram: BPRS-forma expandida e o GAS, acrescentando-se um item referente a sintomas religiosos, o qual explicitamente solicitava ao avaliador que verificasse a presença e intensidade de sintomas de conteúdo religioso. O nível de significância estatística considerado foi p<0,01. RESULTADO: Sintomas religiosos com grau de intensidade moderado a muito intenso estiveram presentes em 15,7% dos casos (n=28). Não foram encontradas relações significativas entre presença e intensidade de sintomas religiosos e as seguintes variáveis socioculturais: filiação religiosa, intensidade de prática religiosa e diagnóstico psiquiátrico. Foram encontradas correlações positivas entre presença e intensidade dos sintomas religiosos e sintomas do espectro maníaco. CONCLUSÕES: O presente trabalho, embora de natureza exploratória e preliminar, sugere que se deva estudar com mais cuidado e profundidade as experiências religiosas de pacientes bipolares, particularmente a associação de vivências maníacas a vivências religiosas e místicas.

Psychiatry and the popular conception of possession among the Bangladeshis in London

Two detailed case histories of young people possessed by spirits are presented to show that expressions of distress are shaped by cultural beliefs from the very inception. It stands in marked contrast to the Western psychiatric view of possession beliefs as cultural explanations offered for underlying pathological processes. This has serious implications for the practice of psychiatry in increasingly multi cultural societies.

Mental illness among immigrant minorities in the United Kingdom

Cross-cultural studies on immigrants from Pakistan and the New Commonwealth are reviewed, with emphasis on epidemiology and differences in clinical presentation. Their referral to the psychiatric service is also examined and deficiencies are noted. Awareness of transcultural issues among health professionals need to be increased in order to achieve diagnosis and improvements in health care.