[Mental health beliefs between culture and subjective illness experience].
OBJECTIVE
Subjective health beliefs are representations about pathogenesis, course and treatment options of psychic as well as somatic illnesses. They are important for a psychotherapeutic interaction as well as for a stable drug adherence. However, it remains unclear whether these representations are primarily affected by the cultural background or by an individual's specific illness experiences, a question of increasing importance in our era of globalized migration.


METHODS
The study sample consisted of 203 Austrians (125 with schizophrenia, 78 with obsessivecompulsive disorder) and 190 Pakistanis (120 with schizophrenia, 70 with obsessive-compulsive disorder). All patients completed the "Causal Explanations of Mental Disorders" (CEMD), a 41-item self-rating questionnaire.


RESULTS
Pakistani patients reported magic-religious oriented mental health beliefs more frequently. In contrast, Austrians' beliefs are more often in line with the bio-psychosocial explanations of Western medicine. Concerning mental health beliefs the cultural background seems to be more important than the subjective experience with a distinctive mental disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the subjective experience is of importance for the shape of illnessspecific cognitions, mental health beliefs are primarily caused by the patients' socio-cultural origin. It is a challenge for psychiatry to improve the co-operation with culture-anthropology and other social sciences.
Institut für Suchtdiagnostik, Wien. kristina.ritter@chello.at
Kristina
K
Ritter
Haroon R
HR
Chaudhry
Martin
M
Aigner
Werner
W
Zitterl
Thomas
T
Stompe
D001317:Austria; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D008016:Life Change Events; D008273:Magic; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010154:Pakistan; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000208:ethnology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013140:Spiritualism; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018599:Witchcraft