Belief in omens and superstitions among patients with chronic neurological disorders

Introduction

Chronic neurological disorders may affect various cognitive processes, including religiosity or superstitious belief. We investigated whether superstitious beliefs are equally prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), people with epilepsy (PWE), patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls (HCs).

Methods

From late 2014 to early 2023 we conducted a cross-sectional in-person anonymous paper-based survey at the tertiary clinic of Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos among outpatients and HCs by asking them to ascribe meaning or report belief for 27 culturally adapted statements (9 omens and 18 superstitions). The sum of items that a respondent believes in was labeled the superstition index (SI). The SI was compared between groups by means of the Kruskal-Wallis (H) test and negative binomial regression modeling. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to discern different subgroups based on answers to the items of the SI.

Results

There were 553 respondents who completed the questionnaire (183 PWE, 124 patients with PD, 133 with MS and 113 HCs). Complete SI scores were collected for 479 (86.6%) participants and they were lower in patients with PD (n = 96, Md = 1, IQR = 0-5.75) in comparison to those with epilepsy (n = 155, Md = 6, IQR = 1-14), MS (n = 120, Md = 4, IQR = 0-12) or HCs (n = 108, Md = 4.5, IQR = 1-10), H (3) = 26.780, p < 0.001. In a negative binomial regression model (n = 394, likelihood ratio χ2 = 35.178, p < 0.001), adjusted for sex, place of residence, income and education, female sex was the only characteristic associated with the SI (β = 0.423, OR = 1.526, 95% CI = 1.148 to 2.028). Both female sex (β = 0.422, OR = 1.525, 95% CI = 1.148 to 2.026) and Parkinson's disease (β = -0.428, OR = 0.652, 95% CI = 0.432 to 0.984) were significant predictors of the SI when age was removed from the model. Two-step cluster analysis resulted in individuals with PD being grouped into "extreme non-believer," "non-believer" and "believer" rather than "non-believer" and "believer" clusters characteristic for PWE, patients with MS and HCs.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that individuals with PD believe in less superstitions than patients with MS, PWE or HCs. The results of this investigation should be independently confirmed after adjusting for PD-specific variables.

A new methodological tool for research on supernatural concepts

We introduce the first set of stimuli designed to resolve methodological and theoretical issues that have muddled the interpretation of results on the memorability of supernatural concepts (e.g., ghosts, souls, spirits), an important line of research in the cognitive science of religion (Barrett, 2007). We focus here on Boyer's (1994), Boyer, 2001) pioneering minimally counterintuitive (MCI) hypothesis according to which supernatural concepts tap a special memory-enhancing mechanism linked to violations of default intuitive inferences. Empirical tests of the MCI account have given rise to a vexed picture that renders meaningful interpretation difficult. The lack of a common standard of comparison among different studies, coupled with the presence of uncontrolled variables independently known to affect memorability, lie at the heart of these problems. We show that our new stimuli offer the hope of resolving these issues, thereby establishing a more secure foundation for the study of the memorability of supernatural concepts.

Superstitious learning of abstract order from random reinforcement

Humans and other animals often infer spurious associations among unrelated events. However, such superstitious learning is usually accounted for by conditioned associations, raising the question of whether an animal could develop more complex cognitive structures independent of reinforcement. Here, we tasked monkeys with discovering the serial order of two pictorial sets: a "learnable" set in which the stimuli were implicitly ordered and monkeys were rewarded for choosing the higher-rank stimulus and an "unlearnable" set in which stimuli were unordered and feedback was random regardless of the choice. We replicated prior results that monkeys reliably learned the implicit order of the learnable set. Surprisingly, the monkeys behaved as though some ordering also existed in the unlearnable set, showing consistent choice preference that transferred to novel untrained pairs in this set, even under a preference-discouraging reward schedule that gave rewards more frequently to the stimulus that was selected less often. In simulations, a model-free reinforcement learning algorithm (Q-learning) displayed a degree of consistent ordering among the unlearnable set but, unlike the monkeys, failed to do so under the preference-discouraging reward schedule. Our results suggest that monkeys infer abstract structures from objectively random events using heuristics that extend beyond stimulus-outcome conditional learning to more cognitive model-based learning mechanisms.

Knowledge, attitude and traditional practices towards epilepsy among relatives of PWE (patients with epilepsy) in Marrakesh, Morocco

Epilepsy remains one of the most common neurological diseases in the world but seems to be widely misunderstood, especially in low-income countries. Patients with epilepsy (PWE) can face considerable stigma in society, and there have been various studies that evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the population towards epilepsy. However, there was no study of this kind in Morocco.

PURPOSE

Our aim was thus to assess knowledge, attitudes, and traditional practices specifically among relatives and caregivers of PWE in our community, in order to better evaluate their educational needs.

METHODS

This cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out over a year long period in the outpatient neurology clinic of the Mohammed 6 University Hospital, a tertiary referral center in Marrakesh, Morocco. The respondents were relatives of PWE (usually parents and siblings) or spouses who attended the outpatient clinic alongside them. The interviews were carried out by the same investigator at the outpatient clinic during patient's visits, face-to-face using Moroccan Arabic or Darija, with an 18-item questionnaire.

RESULTS

Responses of 100 participants were analyzed. The mean age was 40 years old and 5 months. Sixty-six percent of the respondents were women, 50% of rural origin and 76 % lived in an urban area. Forty-one percent were illiterate, and 74% were of low income. Only 65% of the participants knew the Arabic term for epilepsy. For 48%, epilepsy was linked with witchcraft or demonic possession. Seventy-five percent of the respondents had at least one prior consultation to a traditional healer. Only 5% in our study knew the first-aid basics to apply in case of a seizure.

CONCLUSION

Despite having a relative with epilepsy, our participants' knowledge was very poor. The level of education and income seem to be the two major contributing factors. Cultural beliefs and superstition are very pervasive, and the majority of our sample had already used traditional healing and alternative medicine. Our study highlights the need for a more global intervention in Morocco encompassing healthcare policies, awareness campaigns, and educational reforms.

Uncovering Underlying Processes Before Illusion of Control Begins in Gambling Disorder: A Pilot Study

Gambling Disorder (GD) is characterized by persistent betting even in face of accruing debts and psychosocial hardship. Gambling Disorder behavior has been linked to conditioning, cognitive distortions and superstitious behavior. Previous studies have demonstrated that during response-outcome analytical tests (ROAT), non-gambling individuals are precluded from response extinction when failure feedback is suppressed, and develop superstitious behaviors and illusion of control instead. Gambling can be regarded as a ROAT paradigm in which disordered gamblers (DGs) fail to compute failure feedback; hence they do not perceive the independence between response and outcome. In order to investigate early phenomena on response and outcome processing in DGs, we developed two short ROAT versions, one with a controllable outcome and one with an uncontrollable outcome, both with explicit failure feedback. Twenty DGs and twenty healthy controls were assessed using this novel paradigm. Compared to controls, DGs reported higher distress during the controllable ROAT, less self-confidence in the uncontrollable ROAT, and more random responses and less use of analytical strategies in both tests, evidencing potential deficits in cognitive control. In contrast to previous findings, DGs did not demonstrate more superstitious beliefs, or illusion of control, and were generally more skeptical than controls regarding the controllability of both ROAT versions. Taken together, our findings provide some support for deficits in cognitive control in GD that precede illusion of control and superstitious behaviors.

Q fever-the superstition of avoiding the word "quiet" as a coping mechanism: randomised controlled non-inferiority trial

OBJECTIVE

To determine the validity of the superstition that utterance of the word "quiet" in a clinical setting increases workload.

DESIGN

Prospective randomised controlled non-inferiority study.

SETTING

Microbiology department of a large teaching hospital in Lancashire, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

Two members of the medical microbiology team carried out the duty work on any given week day and an on-call team member on any weekend day. 29 days were assigned in which staff were to say "Today will be a quiet day" and 32 days were assigned in which staff were to refrain from saying the word "quiet" in any context.

INTERVENTIONS

Each day was randomly allocated to either saying "Today will be a quiet day" (intervention group) or refraining from saying the word "quiet" (control group) in any context.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome was mean overall workload: a composite of number of clinically related telephone calls, clinically significant results, or validated results processed by the duty medical microbiology team during a 24 hour period referred to collectively as "clinical episodes." A difference of 30 clinical episodes was considered as the margin of non-inferiority. Secondary outcomes included the individual components of the primary outcome.

RESULTS

Workload was measured each day over a 61 day period (1 May to 30 June 2019). A mean 139.0 clinical episodes occurred on control days compared with 144.9 on days when the experimental intervention was uttered, a difference of 5.9 (95% confidence interval-12.9 to 24.7). The upper bound was less than the specified margin of 30, providing evidence for non-inferiority. No evidence of a difference in workload was found between interventions with any of the four components, whether considering unadjusted or adjusted analyses, or looking at the subgroups of week days or weekends.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings refute the long held superstition that utterance of the word "quiet" impacts on clinical workload, and therefore it should not be avoided. In the era of considerable staff shortages and increased work related stress, doctors should look to other methods to increase resilience and protect their wellbeing and mental health.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's research department SE-259.

Ritualistic child sexual abuse in post-conflict Eastern DRC: Factors associated with the phenomenon and implications for social work

Ritualistic child sexual abuse (RCSA) is a critical and under-recognised form of child maltreatment prevailing in developing countries. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), children from specific communities suffer complex forms of RCSA perpetrated with extreme brutality by various individuals and groups of conspirators. Although the DRC has achieved significant milestones towards combatting war-related sexual abuse of women and children, disturbing forms of RCSA, notably child kidnapping, rape, child defilement for fetish and superstitious beliefs, child sexual exploitation, and cult-based child marriage persist and affect many victims. This study examines the factors associated with the resurgence of RCSA in post-conflict eastern DRC. The article also discusses the implications of such forms of abuse for social work practice and education in a post-war context.

Magical thinking decreases across adulthood

Magical thinking, or illogical causal reasoning such as superstitions, decreases across childhood, but almost no data speak to whether this developmental trajectory continues across the life span. In four experiments, magical thinking decreased across adulthood. This pattern replicated across two judgment domains and could not be explained by age-related differences in tolerance of ambiguity, domain-specific knowledge, or search for meaning. These data complement and extend findings that experience, accumulated over decades, guides older adults' judgments so that they match, or even exceed, young adults' performance. They also counter participants' expectations, and cultural sayings (e.g., "old wives' tales"), that suggest that older adults are especially superstitious. (PsycINFO Database Record

[Brua and psychiatry: A pilot study among Dutch-Antillean patients in the Netherlands]

Individuals native to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the abc islands of the former Netherlands Antilles, often attribute their complaints to brua, although they seldom discuss this with health professionals. This may have a negative influence on the therapeutic relationship and diagnostic processes.<br /> AIM: To explore the role of brua in the illness perception of psychiatric patients in the Netherlands who were originally from the abc islands.<br /> METHOD: A random sample of patients under treatment at Parnassia Psychiatric Institute in The Hague were interviewed with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire.<br /> RESULTS: Of the 18 psychiatric patients interviewed, 10 (56%) believed in brua, and 3 (17%) considered it the cause of their disease. Although none of the interviewees admitted to an active involvement in brua, 8 (44%) had been in touch with a traditional healer and 9 (50%) possessed artifacts meant to provide protection against evil. Regarding the usefulness of discussing brua with health professionals, opinions were divided.<br /> CONCLUSION: Psychiatric patients in the Netherlands native to the abc islands are all knowledgeable of brua, with more than half of them believing in it. Despite the fear and shame that people often experience, making brua fit for discussion in clinical practice would improve the relationship between health professional and patient, yielding further opportunities for diagnosis and treatment.

Religion, Spirituality and Folk Medicine/Superstition in a Neonatal Unit

Beliefs and practices surrounding religion and spirituality (RS) feature in neonatal units, although healthcare professionals and families hold different views on their role in neonatal care. Descriptive study performed at the Neonatology Unit of Santa Lucía University Hospital, Cartagena. Separate forms concerning spirituality, religion and folk medicine were administered to professionals ascribed to the unit (n = 70) and parents (n = 93). 70% of professionals and 60.2% of parents perceive RS as playing a relevant role in neonatal care; however, 45% of professionals prefer that parents do not express their RS beliefs. Actual use of prayer by parents while in the unit was 55.9%, compared to the staff's estimation of 20.8% (p < 0.001); parents believe that RS affects outcomes indirectly, mediating through caregivers, contrary to the staff perception that parents turn to RS for a direct effect on outcomes (p < 0.001); professionals, unlike parents, found RS to be of little benefit to children (p < 0.001) or in reducing parental anxiety (p < 0.001). Amulets were found alongside 26.6% of children. Up to 40% of parents believe in magic concepts such as evil eye. Many families express RS while a member is hospitalized and, while staff recognize its importance, they often fail to respond correctly. The use of amulets and ritual objects is still common and can express the need for emotional and psychological support. Caregivers need to be aware of the medical, psychological and emotional implications of these practices.

The self-attribution bias and paranormal beliefs

The present study investigated the relation between paranormal beliefs, illusory control and the self-attribution bias, i.e., the motivated tendency to attribute positive outcomes to oneself while negative outcomes are externalized. Visitors of a psychic fair played a card guessing game and indicated their perceived control over randomly selected cards as a function of the congruency and valence of the card. A stronger self-attribution bias was observed for paranormal believers compared to skeptics and this bias was specifically related to traditional religious beliefs and belief in superstition. No relation between paranormal beliefs and illusory control was found. Self-report measures indicated that paranormal beliefs were associated to being raised in a spiritual family and to anomalous experiences during childhood. Thereby this study suggests that paranormal beliefs are related to specific cognitive biases that in turn are shaped by socio-cultural factors.

[Brua as an explanatory model for diseases]

A 26-year-old woman from the island of Aruba who had been living in the Netherlands for ten years felt she was misunderstood by the various health professionals she had consulted because of her fear that she was being poisoned and would soon die. Due to her background en her belief in brua, she attributed her symptoms and her illness to 'voodoo', allegedly practiced by members of her husband's family in connection with relationship problems. A culture-sensitive approach to the patient, along with thorough psychiatric and neurological tests, yielded a surprising result. Our findings emphasise how important it is for us as health professionals to acquaint ourselves with explanatory models of the diseases of our patients, and how vital it is for us to be aware of a patient's background, particularly if the patient is of foreign descent.

[Forensic psychiatry and Islamic law]

Islam is the second most popular monotheistic religion in the world. Its followers, the Muslims, are about 1.2 billion people and are the majority in 56 countries around the globe. Islam is an holistic way and model of life and its rules, according to a large proportion of Muslims, should have more power than the laws deriving from any secular authority. This means that the divine laws, as depicted from Islam's holy scripts, should be the laws of the land. In the strict Islamic states, as Saudi Arabia, the Islamic law or the Shari'ah prevails. Shari'ah means the path, the road each faithful Muslim should follow according to the rules of God. The Islamic views on mental health have some interesting characteristics: on the one hand, the moral necessity for the protection and care of the vulnerable individuals is very strong, but on the other hand superstitions and stigmatization influence the peoples' attitude against mental health patients. At the beginning of its historical course, Islamic world was a pioneer concerning mental health care. Unfortunately, as time passed by, we have observed considerable regression. In our days mental health services provided in most of the Islamic states cannot be considered adequate according to modern Western standards. The same course characterizes the Forensic Psychiatric services and the relevant legislation in the Islamic world.

[Is superstitious behavior more easily acquired by negative reinforcement schedules than positive reinforcement schedules? Examinations of the polarity and the duration of a consequence]

This study investigated the effects of positive and negative reinforcement on superstitious behaviors. Participants were instructed to produce the word "GOOD" on a computer display (positive reinforcement condition) or to remove the word "BAD" (negative reinforcement condition) by pressing any of six keys. The words GOOD or BAD were presented at fixed-time intervals regardless of the participant's responses. In Experiment 1, only participants exposed to the negative reinforcement condition acquired superstitious behaviors. However, the observed asymmetry may not have been due to the polarity of consequences (positive vs. negative) but instead to the amount of time of goal states, because the period of the absence of BAD was longer than the period of the presence of GOOD. Experiment 2 varied the duration of word presentations to match the period of goal state between the positive and negative reinforcement conditions, and found that participants acquired superstitious behaviors equally under the two conditions. These results indicate that the duration of a consequence rather than its polarity is a critical factor controlling superstitious behaviors. The theoretical relationship between superstitious behavior and the illusion of control is discussed.

The evil eye: a cautious look

This article analyzes the superstition of the evil eye from a psychosocial perspective. The commonly employed antidotes to the evil eye are discussed. These include knock on wood, kenehora, and various other culturally prescribed protective measures. The sin of envy, the role of God, Scripture, and Satan are examined. The author concludes with a statement of his own way of dealing with the evil eye and its underlying essence.

Attitude and beliefs of some nurses in government hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria to natal/neonatal teeth in infants

Eruption of the first deciduous teeth in children has shown much variation and occasionally may erupt prematurely at birth or within one month of life. Myths about natal/neonatal teeth abound in the Nigerian culture. Nurses are health care providers who are in constant close contact with patients and can be invaluable in helping to dispel these associated myths. However, to provide correct information they should be adequately equipped to do so. The aim of this study thus, was to assess the attitudes and beliefs of some nurses in Ibadan, Nigeria to natal/neonatal teeth in infants. A cross sectional survey was conducted among 380 nurses in the teaching, general and local government hospitals and clinics in Ibadan, Nigeria. Results revealed that 41.3% of the respondents would express shock and surprise if they assisted in delivering a baby with natal teeth. Half of the respondents (49.7%) felt that natal/neonatal teeth will be a great source of embarrassment to the family while a smaller proportion (11.8%), believed it was a curse (p = 0.01). On the advice the respondents would give to the mothers, more than a th (39.7%), would recommend immediate extraction of the teeth. A further 42 (11.1%) nurses were of the opinion that spiritual cleansing should be carried out prior to extraction. A greater proportion of the older nurses would advice immediate extraction of the teeth (p = 0.031). Regarding the perceived effect of natal/neonatal teeth on the children, (7.4%), (12.6%) and (29.2%) of the respondents believed that the children will behave strangely, will possess spiritual authority and be victims of stigmatization later in life respectively. This study has revealed that knowledge gaps about natal/neonatal teeth exist among the nurses in Ibadan, Nigeria. Health education programmes targeted at nurses are essential to correct these beliefs.

[Psychiatry and brua]

BACKGROUND

Patients from Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are often inclined to attribute mental problems to brua, the Dutch-Antillean counterpart of voodoo. Because little is known about brua and patients are usually reluctant to talk about it, problems can arise in the communication with biomedically trained health practitioners.

AIM

To provide an overview of the literature on brua, and of the ways in which brua may interfere with the diagnosis and treatment of Dutch-Antillean patients with mental health problems.

METHOD

We searched the literature via PubMed and Embase (up to October 2012) and the historical literature (from 1880 onwards) written in Dutch, English, French, Spanish, and Papiamento.

RESULTS

Brua has its origins in folk medicine and magico-religious rituals, which are regarded both as the cause of and a cure for mental illness. Although Antillean patients generally turn to medically trained professionals when they are confronted with medical problems, they often rely on brua medicine when they face either simpler problems, or problems for which Western medicine cannot provide a solution.

CONCLUSION

On the basis of the literature, the area of tension between the Western approach to medicine and the brua approach seems to be insignificant, except perhaps in cases where hallucinogens or other psycho-active substances complicate the clinical picture and in cases where the patient’s fear for sorcery dominates clinical symptomatology.

The Evil Eye--an ancient superstition

This paper describes and discusses the ancient superstition of the Evil Eye. The author describes his own personal childhood introduction to the subject of the Evil Eye which years later instigated his scholarly inquiry. The history of this very geographically widespread folk belief is elaborated upon, along with common manifestations as they appear in a number of different countries and cultures. Some of the methods used to thwart the negative effects of the Evil Eye are enumerated. Relevant psychodynamics and common expressions of the Evil Eye superstition are elucidated upon.

Do people whose names begin with "D" really die young?

It has been reported that professional baseball players whose first names begin with the letter "D" tend to die relatively young (E. L. Abel & M. L. Kruger, 2010). However, the statistical evidence for this claim is based on selective data and a statistical test that ignores important confounding influences. A valid test applied to more comprehensive data from the same source does not show a statistically significant relationship between initials and longevity. In addition, data for the years 1960 through 2004 for 6.7 million White, non-Hispanic California decedents do not replicate the claim that D's die young.

Superstition, witchcraft and HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Ghana

Belief in superstition and witchcraft is central to many African conceptions of illness, disease causation and etiology. While a number of anthropological studies have alluded to a theoretical link between such beliefs and HIV prevention in particular, there is limited empirical assessment of the association. Using data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey and applying random-effects logit models, we investigate whether the belief that AIDS can spread through witchcraft associates with the sexual decision making of never-married men and women. The results show that men who believed AIDS can spread through witchcraft and other supernatural means were less likely to have used condoms at last sexual intercourse, controlling for other socioeconomic and cultural variables. Women with similar beliefs were more likely to have experienced sexual intercourse but less likely to have used condoms at last sex. For women, however, the relationship between such superstitious beliefs and condom use was somewhat attenuated after controlling for ethnicity and region of residence. From a policy perspective, the findings suggest that local beliefs regarding AIDS causation must be considered in designing HIV/AIDS programmes and interventions.

Thinking with Montaigne: evidence, scepticism and meaning in early modern demonology

In 1612 the Bordeaux witchcraft inquisitor Pierre de Lancre (1556–1631), himself linked by marriage to Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), revealed that the essayist and sceptic was related on his mother’s side to a leading authority on magic and superstition, the Flemish-Spanish Jesuit Martin Delrio (1551–1608). De Lancre confounded historians' expectations by using the revelation to defend Montaigne against his cousin's criticism. This article re-evaluates the relationships of De Lancre, Delrio and Montaigne in the light of recent scholarship, which casts demonology as a form of "resistance to scepticism" that conceals deep anxiety about the existence of the supernatural. It explores De Lancre’s and Delrio’s very different attitudes towards Montaigne and towards evidence and scepticism. This, in turn, reveals the different underlying preoccupations of their witchcraft treatises. It hence argues that no monocausal explanation linking scepticism to witchcraft belief is plausible.

[Odón de Buen: forty-five years of commitment to the university]

The aragonese naturalist Odón de Buen y del Cos for twenty-two annual academic courses professor of natural history at the University of Barcelona and for twenty-three of the University of Madrid. Strong supporter of Darwin's evolutionary theory, experimental work in the field and laboratory, in this paper puts the value of their efforts, as an educator, to popularize the natural sciences and thus separated from the concerns, superstition and fanaticism, which they were basic reasons of the moral and material backwardness in which Spain was found.

Superstitiousness in obsessive-compulsive disorder

It has been speculated that superstitiousness and obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) exist along a continuum. The distinction between superstitious behavior italic>and superstitious belief, however, is crucial for any theoretical account of claimed associations between superstitiousness and OCD. By demonstrating that there is a dichotomy between behavior and belief, which is experimentally testable, we can differentiate superstitious behavior from superstitious belief, or magical ideation. Different brain circuits are responsible for these two forms of superstitiousness; thus, determining which type of superstition is prominent in the symptomatology of an individual patient may inform us about the primarily affected neurocognitive systems.

Menstruation in rural Igbo women of south east Nigeria: attitudes, beliefs and practices

Many cultures hold on to different beliefs and retain community-defined restrictions for menstruating women. The Igbo society of southeast Nigeria is rich in culture, myths and superstitions but, surprisingly no documentation exists on menstrual beliefs and practices among the population. This questionnaire-based cross sectional study supplemented with in-depth interviews evaluated the beliefs, myths and traditional practices associated with menstruation within rural Igbo communities. It revealed that the menstrual egress is of great significance in Igbo culture and must be disposed of carefully to avoid exposure to witchcraft and rituals. Some respondents observed self-imposed restrictions on exercises, food items, visits and sex in order to maintain physical and spiritual cleanliness, lessen discomfort and avoid embarrassment. Gynaecologists working in this region should utilize the opportunities of clinical consultations to discuss menstrual health issues with their female patients and educate them on the physiology and significance of menstruation.

Menstruation in Ulysses

This article investigates James Joyce's fascination with a wide variety of medical texts, sexual folklores, religious beliefs, and persistent superstitions about menstruation. That fascination finds its way into Ulysses, which draws upon a number of intertexts to inform a curiosity about the female body most strikingly articulated by Bloom, Molly, and Gerty MacDowell. These intertexts are not simply imported into the novel but are dismantled and interrogated, as Joyce exposes, rather than endorses, clichés of essential femininity.

A test of social cognitive theory reciprocal and sequential effects: hope, superstitious belief and environmental factors among lottery gamblers in Thailand

This study tested social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) hypotheses of reciprocal and sequential effects among person, environment variables and behavior. The study examined the impact of hope, superstitious belief and environmental factors on the frequency, amounts of lottery gambling and chasing of particular numbers among Thai lottery gamblers. One hundred and fifty gamblers who visited two temples in Bangkok to search for number clues before buying tickets and 150 gamblers who simply bought lottery tickets from the stalls were recruited for the study. Models were constructed to test the effect of hope, superstitious belief and environmental factors on gambling behavior, and the reciprocal effect of gambling behavior on hope, superstitious belief and environmental factors. Results confirmed the theoretical reciprocal effects. A sequential effect model showing the effects of environmental factors on superstitious belief, hope and gambling behavior was also constructed and hope was found to be the result of superstitious belief. To reduce lottery gambling, the players need to be warned of their distorted hope and the small chance of winning lottery.

Sleep deprivation reduces perceived emotional intelligence and constructive thinking skills

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Insufficient sleep can adversely affect a variety of cognitive abilities, ranging from simple alertness to higher-order executive functions. Although the effects of sleep loss on mood and cognition are well documented, there have been no controlled studies examining its effects on perceived emotional intelligence (EQ) and constructive thinking, abilities that require the integration of affect and cognition and are central to adaptive functioning.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty-six healthy volunteers completed the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi) and the Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI) at rested baseline and again after 55.5 and 58 h of continuous wakefulness, respectively.

RESULTS

Relative to baseline, sleep deprivation was associated with lower scores on Total EQ (decreased global emotional intelligence), Intrapersonal functioning (reduced self-regard, assertiveness, sense of independence, and self-actualization), Interpersonal functioning (reduced empathy toward others and quality of interpersonal relationships), Stress Management skills (reduced impulse control and difficulty with delay of gratification), and Behavioral Coping (reduced positive thinking and action orientation). Esoteric Thinking (greater reliance on formal superstitions and magical thinking processes) was increased.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings are consistent with the neurobehavioral model suggesting that sleep loss produces temporary changes in cerebral metabolism, cognition, emotion, and behavior consistent with mild prefrontal lobe dysfunction.

Non-contingent positive and negative reinforcement schedules of superstitious behaviors

The role of schedules of reinforcement on the development of superstitious conditioning was investigated in a college age population. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight operant schedules and instructed to remove (escape), prevent and/or remove (avoidance and escape) or produce (positive) the appearance of a computer generated stimulus using a response pad. Results from the experiment indicate that concomitant (escape and avoidance) schedules of reinforcement are most effective in facilitating acquisition of superstitious behavior as measured by self-reports of participants.

that the social order prevails: death, ritual and the 'Roman' nurse

In this article, the importance of ritual as a collective response to death is discussed. A case example, taken from a larger ethnographic study, is used to explore the responses and reactions of a group of Italian nurses to death as it occurs within an intensive care unit in Rome, Italy. The material presented is used to analyse the significance that cultural, religious and social beliefs and quasi-beliefs can have in nursing practice. The issues highlighted in this examination of the place of ritual in death are located and discussed within their highly specific cultural context and suggest that, where emphasis remains on nurses as a collective rather than on the individual nurse, ritual acts to ensure that social and moral order prevails.

When the war was over, little changed: women's posttraumatic suffering after the war in Mozambique

This article explores the psychosocial effects of women's prolonged exposure to civil war in the center of Mozambique. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, 91 women were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms and psychosocial indicators of ill health. The results indicate that for the majority of the women in this study, traumatic experiences are sequential processes. Their ill health ranges from symptoms of posttraumatic stress to episodes of spirit possession (gamba), affecting women's capacities to conceive and raise children, and marginalizing their social position. A careful analysis of the specific problems and needs of women in postwar contexts is recommended, along with a systematic examination of the effectiveness of the available resources that may play a role in boosting trauma recovery in this group of women.

Childhood physical abuse and differential development of paranormal belief systems

This study compared paranormal belief systems in individuals with and without childhood physical abuse histories. The Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and the Assessing Environments III Questionnaire were completed by 107 University students. Psi, precognition, and spiritualism, which are thought to provide a sense of personal efficacy and control, were among the most strongly held beliefs in abused subjects, and were significantly higher in abused versus nonabused subjects. Superstition and extraordinary life forms, thought to have an inverse or no relation to felt control, were the least strongly held beliefs in abused subjects, and, along with religious beliefs, did not differ between the two abuse groups. Witchcraft was unexpectedly found to be the most strongly held belief among those with abuse histories. Results suggest that by providing a sense of control, certain paranormal beliefs may offer a powerful emotional refuge to individuals who endured the stress of physical abuse in childhood.

Medical astrology in Spain during the seventeenth century

It is well known that astrological practice during the Early Modern period was closely related to medicine, and that it provided a tool for diagnosis and treatments. An interesting aspect of this relationship of medicine and astrology is the recognition of the prevailing ideas about medical astrology in the astrological works and astrological-medical treatises. This article discusses the ideas of Galenism and the astrological doctrines that established such a strong relationship between astrology and medicine. There is an overview of the Spanish authors who wrote about the subject, especially those linked with the universities. The paper then goes into detail about the examples of these ideas found in the Spanish printed texts of the seventeenth century. Finally, there is a section on some very interesting and little known treatises on medical astrology which were a reference for the practice of astrological medicine in the period.

Superstitions Among Perioperative Nurses

A descriptive study was conducted using a mailed questionnaire to determine the prevalence of work-related superstitions among perioperative nurses. Data analysis included the two-sample t test for continuous data and the two-sided Fisher's exact test for binary data. Study results indicate that although only 23% of respondents view themselves as "generally superstitious," specific work-related superstitions are widespread. Belief in specific superstitions was not statistically related to age or number of years as a perioperative nurse. An analysis of the literature on medical workplace superstitions helps to elucidate possible underlying explanations for the phenomenon of nursing superstitions.

Saber popular: sua existência no meio universitário

Mitos e crendices estão presentes hodiernamente, apesar do desenvolvimento da ciência e da tecnologia, principalmente na busca por soluções de problemas que fogem ao entendimento humano. Objetivou-se verificar na comunidade universitária a existência de crendices e mitos, investigando suas origens, influências, adoção e credibilidade, correlacionando-os com o nível de conhecimento dos indivíduos. Pesquisa descritivo-analítica desenvolvida em Unidades de Ensino da Área de Saúde da Universidade Federal de Goiás. Seguiu-se a técnica de análise de conteúdo para análise dos dados. Foram criadas duas categorias: Atitudes Pessoais Relacionadas a Crenças e Influências e Superação das Crenças. Concluiu-se que há colisão entre os saberes popular e científico, gerando a exclusão do saber popular, sua manutenção "velada", ou mesmo, a aliança dos saberes.

Reasoning in believers in the paranormal

Reasoning biases have been identified in deluded patients, delusion-prone individuals, and believers in the paranormal. This study examined content-specific reasoning and delusional ideation in believers in the paranormal. A total of 174 members of the Society for Psychical Research completed a delusional ideation questionnaire and a deductive reasoning task. The reasoning statements were manipulated for congruency with paranormal beliefs. As predicted, individuals who reported a strong belief in the paranormal made more errors and displayed more delusional ideation than skeptical individuals. However, no differences were found with statements that were congruent with their belief system, confirming the domain-specificity of reasoning. This reasoning bias was limited to people who reported a belief in, rather than experience of, paranormal phenomena. These results suggest that reasoning abnormalities may have a causal role in the formation of unusual beliefs. The dissociation between experiences and beliefs implies that such abnormalities operate at the evaluative, rather than the perceptual, stage of processing.

Redefining delusion based on studies of subjective paranormal ideation

The DSM-IV definition of delusion is argued to be unsatisfactory because it does not explain the mechanism for delusion formation and maintenance, it implies that such beliefs are necessarily dysfunctional (pathological), it underestimates the social component to some delusions, and it is inconsistent with research indicating that delusions can be modified through techniques such as contradiction, confrontation, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, a well-replicated mathematical model of magical/delusional thinking based on a study of paranormal beliefs and experiences is consistent with the hypothesis that attributional processes play a central role in delusion formation and maintenance. The model suggests attributional processes serve the adaptive function of reducing fear associated with ambiguous stimuli and delusional thinking is on a continuum with nonpathological forms. Based on this collective research an amendment to the definition of delusion is proposed and its clinical implications are addressed.

Superstitious beliefs in gambling among problem and non-problem gamblers: preliminary data

Superstitious beliefs, defined as a strong conviction based on the erroneous perception of a cause-effect association between two independent events, are considered to play an instrumental role in the maintenance of gambling behaviour. In this preliminary study, responses to eight items assessing superstitious beliefs were compared among 56 electronic gaming machine (EGM) problem gamblers, 22 non-problem EGM and 23 non-EGM non-problem gamblers. Results suggested that problem gamblers endorsed more superstitious beliefs than non-problem gamblers and that such beliefs were correlated with gambling intensity. Further research is required to determine if superstitious beliefs represent a vulnerability factor for the development of problem gambling or emerge as a consequence of involvement in gambling.

Is four a deadly number for the Chinese?

BACKGROUND

The numbers 4, 14 and 24 are associated with death for Cantonese-speaking Chinese people, as the words for these numbers sound like the words for "death", "must die" and "easy to die", respectively. A previous study in the United States investigating psychological stress engendered by fear of the number 4 found more cardiac deaths in Chinese and Japanese people, compared with white Americans, on the 4th day of the month.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether more cardiac deaths occur in Hong Kong Chinese people on the days of the month with "deathly connotations" (4, 14 and 24).

DESIGN

Analysis of mortality data (1995-2000) of the Chinese population of Hong Kong from the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Government for these three days of the month, compared with the remaining days, according to both the Gregorian and Lunar calendars.

RESULTS

There were 17 346 cardiac deaths registered under ICD-9 codes 410-414 in 1995-2000. The mean (+ 1 SD) of the cumulative number of cardiac deaths on each day of the month was 587 (+ 30) for the Gregorian calendar or 573 (+ 24) for the Lunar calendar. The mean number of deaths on the 4th, 14th and 24th day of the month was not significantly different from the mean number of deaths on the remaining days of the month.

CONCLUSION

Our study of Hong Kong Chinese people does not support the concept that more cardiac deaths occur in Cantonese people on the 4th, 14th and 24th day of the month.

What Does a “Superstitious” Person Believe? Impressions of Participants

The questions in surveys in which superstitious belief is examined are based on the researcher or researchers' definitions of superstition and not on participants' definitions. In the present study, 170 undergraduates filled out 2 surveys. In the 1st survey, they were asked to rate 28 possible beliefs of a fictitious person described as "superstitious." In the 2nd survey, they were asked to rate their own level of belief for the same items. An analysis revealed several different factors describing different types of beliefs held by the fictitious person. Ratings for the fictitious person were greatest for socially transmitted beliefs (e.g., black cats, rabbits' feet) or idiosyncratic rituals related to luck and chance, followed by belief in the paranormal (e.g., ghosts), spiritualism (e.g., reincarnation), or psi (e.g., telepathy). Religious beliefs were rated as not being descriptive of the fictitious superstitious person. However, an analysis of the participants' own beliefs revealed that those with higher levels of religious belief also tended to be superstitious and believed in the paranormal.