A Cross-Cultural Study of the Attitudes of Mental Health Professionals Towards Auditory Hallucinations

Saeed Wahass and Gerry Kent
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Saeed Wahass: Department of Psychiatry, King Fahd Hospital of King Faisal University, PO Box 40185, Al-Khobar 31952, Saudi Arabia
Gerry Kent: Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TP, UK

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 1997, vol. 43, issue 3, 184-192

Abstract: The usefulness of psychological interventions for auditory hallucinations is becoming increasingly accepted in Western cultures, but there are few data concerning the views of professionals working in non-Western societies. In this study, 195 psychologists and psychiatrists working in Saudi Arabia (SA) and Britain (UK) responded to a questionnaire regarding their (a) attitudes towards various clinical aspects of auditory hallucinations, (b) perceptions of the clinical value of psychological and pharmacological treatments and of the inputs of the two professions and (c) levels of social distance from people who experience auditory hallucinations. UK staff believed that there is a greater range of possible causes and diagnoses for auditory hallucinations than SA staff, who in turn had more confidence in the efficacy of psychological and pharmacological treat ments. UK staff reported significantly less social distance from this group of patients. The results suggest that the use of psychological approaches to helping people with auditory hallucinations could be affected by cultural views of the causes and treatment.

Date: 1997
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:43:y:1997:i:3:p:184-192

DOI: 10.1177/002076409704300304

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