Religious affiliation and psychiatric diagnosis: the influence of Christian sect membership on diagnosis distribution.
Minority religions, sects and cults are an increasingly common socio-cultural phenomenon, of which the effects concerning mental health and illness are still poorly understood. In the present study, we compared socio-demographical and clinical characteristics between members of Christian sects and the remaining general inpatient population admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Germany between 1978 and 1991. In comparison to the general patient population, Christian sect patients presented significantly more frequently with a diagnosis of functional psychoses (P < 0.02) and less frequently with diagnoses of neuroses (P < 0.10). Dissimilarities among sub-cultural groups in help-seeking behavior are suggested to explain the heterogeneous diagnoses distribution found in the study.
Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Germany.
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Dalgalarrondo
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Lotz
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002835:Christianity; D003469:Culture; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012068:Religion and Medicine