Pfeifer S
Psychiatric Clinic Sonnenhalde, Basel, Switzerland.
Psychopathology. 1999 Sep-Oct;32(5):252-9. doi: 10.1159/000029097.
Belief in demonic influence has repeatedly been described as a delusion in schizophrenic patients. The goal of this explorative study was to examine the frequency, as well as the psychodynamic and social functions of such beliefs in a sample of nondelusional patients.
The sample consisted of 343 psychiatric outpatients who described themselves as religious. In semistructured interviews they were asked to give their view of demonic causality of their illness.
A high prevalence of such beliefs was not only found in schizophrenic patients (56%) but also in the following groups of nondelusional patients: affective disorders (29%), anxiety disorders (48%), personality disorders (37%) and adjustment disorders (23%). Belief in demonic oppression tended to be associated with lower educational level and rural origin, and was significantly influenced by church affiliation.
Beliefs in possession or demonic influence are not confined to delusional disorders and should not be qualified as a mere delusion. Rather they have to be interpreted against the cultural and religious background which is shaping causal models of mental distress in the individual.
相信恶魔影响在精神分裂症患者中反复被描述为一种妄想。这项探索性研究的目的是在非妄想患者样本中检查此类信念的频率以及心理动力学和社会功能。
样本包括343名自述为宗教信徒的精神科门诊患者。在半结构化访谈中，要求他们给出对其疾病恶魔因果关系的看法。
此类信念不仅在精神分裂症患者中普遍存在（56%），在以下非妄想患者组中也很常见：情感障碍（29%）、焦虑障碍（48%）、人格障碍（37%）和适应障碍（23%）。相信恶魔压迫往往与较低的教育水平和农村出身有关，并且受教会归属的影响显著。
相信被附身或恶魔影响并不局限于妄想性障碍，不应仅仅被视为一种妄想。相反，必须结合塑造个体心理痛苦因果模型的文化和宗教背景来解释它们。
