Beliefs about causes of schizophrenia among family members: a community-based survey in Bali.
OBJECTIVE
This community-based study investigated causal beliefs regarding schizophrenia among families of individuals in Bali who screened positive for schizophrenia and examined how their beliefs were related to the individual's psychiatric treatment status.


METHODS
Causal beliefs of 39 key relatives were examined: 19 of the individuals with schizophrenia had received psychiatric medical treatment and 20 had never received such treatment. A questionnaire developed by the authors that listed 15 possible causes of schizophrenia was used to examine the respondents' beliefs.


RESULTS
Key relatives attributed supernatural causes to schizophrenia more often than natural causes. Compared with relatives who listed a natural cause as most important (14 relatives, or 36 percent), relatives who considered a supernatural cause as being the most important (25 relatives, or 64 percent) had a significantly higher mean age and less education and were more likely to have family members with schizophrenia who had never received psychiatric medical treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Families' attribution of supernatural causes was strongly related to no receipt of psychiatric medical treatment by the individual with schizophrenia.
Kurihara
Toshiyuki
T
Department of Psychiatry, Komagino Hospital, 273 Uratakao, Hachioji, Tokyo, 193-8505 Japan. kurihara@sj8.so-net.ne.jp
Kato
Motoichiro
M
Reverger
Robert
R
Tirta
I Gusti Rai
IG
D000328:Adult; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D008273:Magic / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires