Esterberg Michelle L, Compton Michael T
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Compr Psychiatry. 2006 May-Jun;47(3):221-6. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2005.07.005.
Family members often provide psychosocial support and assistance in seeking treatment for individuals with schizophrenia. It is crucial to understand what family members believe to be the causes of schizophrenia, as this likely influences the family's help-seeking decisions. The aim of this descriptive study was to investigate the causes of schizophrenia reported by family members of African Americans hospitalized with schizophrenia. Sixty-one family members of 38 patients with a first episode or an acute exacerbation of persistent illness were administered a survey containing 30 possible causes of schizophrenia from 5 categories. The sample endorsed predominantly biologic causes. Many family members also endorsed personality and societal causes, as well as family and esoteric causes. Compared with family members in the persistent group, family members in the first-episode group were more likely to select personality or societal causes in addition to biologic causes. These results provide insight into the etiologic beliefs of a sample of African American family members. Further research is needed to assess the potential influence of these beliefs on treatment seeking on the part of the family.
家庭成员通常会为精神分裂症患者提供心理社会支持，并协助其寻求治疗。了解家庭成员认为精神分裂症的病因是什么至关重要，因为这可能会影响家庭寻求帮助的决策。这项描述性研究的目的是调查因精神分裂症住院的非裔美国人家庭成员所报告的精神分裂症病因。对38例首次发作或持续性疾病急性加重患者的61名家庭成员进行了一项调查，该调查包含来自5个类别的30种可能的精神分裂症病因。样本主要认可生物学病因。许多家庭成员也认可人格和社会病因，以及家庭和神秘主义病因。与持续性疾病组的家庭成员相比，首次发作组的家庭成员除了生物学病因外，更有可能选择人格或社会病因。这些结果为非裔美国家庭成员样本的病因信念提供了见解。需要进一步研究来评估这些信念对家庭寻求治疗的潜在影响。
