title: Supernatural beliefs, aetiological models and help seeking behaviour in patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have evaluated the supernatural beliefs of patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to study the personal beliefs, aetiological models and help seeking behaviour of patients with schizophrenia using a self-rated questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy three patients returned the completed supernatural Attitude questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  62% of patients admitted that people in their community believed in sorcery and other magico-religious phenomena. One fourth to half of patients believed in ghosts/evil spirit (26%), spirit intrusion (28.8%) and sorcery (46.6%). Two-third patients believed that mental illness can occur either due to sorcery, ghosts/evil spirit, spirit intrusion, divine wrath, planetary/astrological influences, dissatisfied or evil spirits and bad deeds of the past. 40% of the subjects attributed mental disorders to more than one of these beliefs. About half of the patients (46.6%) believed that only performance of prayers was sufficient to improve their mental status. Few patients (9.6%) believed that magico-religious rituals were sufficient to improve their mental illness but about one-fourth (24.7%) admitted that during recent episode either they or their caregivers performed magico-religious rituals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Supernatural beliefs are common in patients with schizophrenia and many of them attribute the symptoms of mental disorders to these beliefs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kate
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.forename: Parmanand
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kulhara
authors.forename: Ritu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nehra
keywords: Aetiological models; schizophrenia; supernatural beliefs