BACKGROUND: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia have been extensively studied in cross-cultural settings, but research on ethnic differences are currently lacking. AIMS: This study examined beliefs about the manifestations, causes and cures of schizophrenia in a multi-ethnic sample from Malaysia. METHODS: In this study, 561 Malay, Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun participants rated 72 statements about schizophrenia on a 7-point scale. RESULTS: Results showed that Malaysians tended to favour social-environmental explanations for schizophrenia. There were also ethnic and sex differences in these results. Specifically, Malay participants more strongly agreed that schizophrenia has a social cause, that treatment should affect changes at a societal level, that schizophrenic behaviour is sinful and that mental hospitals do not provide effective treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia may serve different functions for different ethno-cultural groups, which have an influence on help-seeking behaviour.
BACKGROUND: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia have been extensively studied in cross-cultural settings, but research on ethnic differences are currently lacking. AIMS: This study examined beliefs about the manifestations, causes and cures of schizophrenia in a multi-ethnic sample from Malaysia. METHODS: In this study, 561 Malay, Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun participants rated 72 statements about schizophrenia on a 7-point scale. RESULTS: Results showed that Malaysians tended to favour social-environmental explanations for schizophrenia. There were also ethnic and sex differences in these results. Specifically, Malay participants more strongly agreed that schizophrenia has a social cause, that treatment should affect changes at a societal level, that schizophrenic behaviour is sinful and that mental hospitals do not provide effective treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia may serve different functions for different ethno-cultural groups, which have an influence on help-seeking behaviour.
Authors: Vincent Russell; Ching Ee Loo; Aisling Walsh; Arokiamary Bharathy; Umadevi Vasudevan; Irene Looi; Susan M Smith Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-06-30 Impact factor: 2.692