Magico-Religious Beliefs and Psychosis

Abstract

In a sample of 80 mothers of psychotic patients from Southwestern Greece, 85 % entertained strong metaphysical beliefs of a magico-religious nature concerning the cause of psychotic illness. This finding was more prevalent among the less educated. A comparable number of patients with magico-religious delusions had mothers who attributed their children’s illness to supernatural causes, a finding suggesting that family beliefs and attitudes influence the content of the patient’s delusional thinking. Resorting to exorcism or magic, alone or in combination with formal psychiatric help, was very common. Awareness of lay beliefs about psychosis and the proper handling of such beliefs by the treating psychiatrist may facilitate cooperation with the patient and his family, increasing the prospect of a more favorable outcome.

Deconstructing delusions: A qualitative study examining the relationship between religious beliefs and religious delusions

“…As has been previously demonstrated (Pieper & van Uden, 1996;Vlachos et al, 1997), it is possible for individuals to hold a multicausal model to explain their experiences of psychosis. Whilst some participants attributed their experiences to God or the Devil, they simultaneously held beliefs about having an illness they called schizophrenia.…”

“…Little research has been conducted looking specifically at the development of religious delusions, but there is some evidence to demonstrate that family beliefs and attitudes correlate with religious delusions. For example, Vlachos, Beratis, and Hartocollis (1997) found that a high prevalence of a sample of adults with religious and magical delusions had mothers who attributed the psychosis to demonic possession or magical influence. In a recent qualitative study, Rhodes and Jakes (2004) suggested that there is a crucial period when an individual has unusual experiences within the context of psychosocial difficulties, which leads some people to make attempts involving metaphor to understand these experiences.…”

Culture-Bound Dissociation: A Comparative Analysis

“…Developing countries are not the exclusive terrain of possession disorders and exorcism practices. Reports on these conditions were based on observations from countries in North America [63][64][65] and Latin America [66], the United Kingdom [67], Switzerland [68], Italy [69], France [70], Greece [71], Israel [30,72,73], Korea [74], and Russia [75]. A Barna Research poll showed that 54% of adult Americans believe that ''a human being can be under the control or the influence of spiritual forces such as demons'' [76].…”

Explanatory models of depression in Greek-born and Italian-born immigrants living in Australia: Implications for service delivery and clinical practice

“…For example, psychosomatic causation for depression and anxiety has been found in Italians. Greek people have also reported a variety of causes for mental illness, such as psychosis and depression, including family and relationship problems, by chance, magico‐religious and metaphysical beliefs, oversensitivity, weakness of character, personal inadequacy and bad parenting (Molvaer et al , 1992; Vlachos et al , 1997). Similar results have been found in immigrant groups.…”