Introduction Studies examining outcome in schizophrenia have either not considered religion as a relevant variable; or else they have failed to disentangle religious delusions from normal religious beliefs. Method. The measures were developed. The psychometric properties of the Religious Life Inventory modified for use in patients with schizophrenia were examined (study 1). A reliable categorisation procedure was developed for separating religious delusions from normal religious beliefs. A cross sectional investigation (study 2) established the prevalence of religious delusions, and categorised them into meaningful categories. Response to treatment and satisfaction with treatment was evaluated (in study 3) using a quasi-experimental approach. Results. The prevalence of religious delusions was 24%. The most common examples were the delusion of being God or Jesus and the interpretation of an auditory hallucination to be the voice of God or the Devil. Religious delusions were most commonly found in religious people, especially those who have had alterations in their level of religiosity in the past and who hallucinated. Those with religious delusions had higher scores on psychotic symptom measures than those who did not have religious delusions on admission. There was no difference between the religiously deluded and not religiously deluded, or religious and not religious patients in their response to routine treatment. Conclusion Religiosity is not a relevant factor in response to routine treatment for patients with schizophrenia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:627989 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Siddle, Ronald |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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