Causal attribution of mental illness in south-eastern Nigeria

Ugo Ikwuka, Niall Galbraith and Lovemore Nyatanga

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2014, vol. 60, issue 3, 274-279

Abstract: Background: Understanding of mental illness in sub-Saharan Africa has remained under-researched in spite of the high and increasing neuropsychiatric burden of disease in the region. Aims: This study investigated the causal beliefs that the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria hold about schizophrenia, with a view to establishing the extent to which the population makes psychosocial, biological and supernatural attributions. Method: Multi-stage sampling was used to select participants ( N = 200 ) to which questionnaires were administered. Results: Mean comparison of the three causal models revealed a significant endorsement of supernatural causation. Logistic regressions revealed significant contributions of old age and female gender to supernatural attribution; old age, high education and Catholic religious denomination to psychosocial attributions; and high education to biological attributions. Conclusions: It is hoped that the findings would enlighten, augment literature and enhance mental health care service delivery.

Keywords: Attribution; psychosocial; biological; supernatural; biopsychosocial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:60:y:2014:i:3:p:274-279

DOI: 10.1177/0020764013485331

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