1School of Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2013 Nov;47(11):1041-50. doi: 10.1177/0004867413499076. Epub 2013 Sep 3.
The Arabic-speaking clergy is highly revered and considered the first point of contact for people who suffer from mental illness within their community. The current study aimed to explore the beliefs of Arabic-speaking religious leaders regarding the causes of mental illness and the use of medication for their treatment.
Participants consisted of 170 Arabic-speaking clerics of Muslim (n = 85) and Christian (n = 85) denominations residing in Sydney, Australia. A questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews and included items regarding the causes of mental illness and beliefs about whether psychiatric medications were viewed as helpful or harmful.
Most of the Arabic-speaking clerics viewed drug and alcohol addiction and psychosocial factors as the most important causes of mental illness. Biological causes such as a chemical imbalance in the brain were less frequently endorsed. Although medications were viewed by most religious clerics as helpful in the treatment of mental illness, there were also concerns about the potential harms of medications, particularly among Muslim clerics. Muslim clerics also endorsed the religious causes for mental illness, such as spiritual poverty, as being more important more so than did Christian clerics.
The beliefs of Arabic-speaking religious leaders influence how they respond to people with mental illness and may determine whether they refer people to professional mental health services or not. Understanding their perspectives allows opportunities to share information to facilitate collaborative work in the care of Arabic-speaking people with mental illness. Arabic-speaking religious leaders need to be better educated about the mechanisms of action and benefits of medication in the treatment of mental illness.
讲阿拉伯语的神职人员备受尊崇，被视为其社区中患有精神疾病的人首先寻求帮助的对象。本研究旨在探讨讲阿拉伯语的宗教领袖对精神疾病病因的看法，以及他们对精神疾病治疗中药物使用的看法。
参与者包括居住在澳大利亚悉尼的 170 名讲阿拉伯语的穆斯林（n=85）和基督教（n=85）神职人员。在面对面访谈中，使用问卷进行调查，问卷内容包括精神疾病病因和对精神科药物是否有助于治疗精神疾病的看法。
大多数讲阿拉伯语的神职人员认为药物和酒精成瘾以及心理社会因素是导致精神疾病的最重要原因。大脑化学失衡等生物学原因较少被提及。虽然大多数宗教神职人员认为药物有助于治疗精神疾病，但他们也担心药物的潜在危害，尤其是穆斯林神职人员。与基督教神职人员相比，穆斯林神职人员还认为精神疾病的宗教原因（如精神贫困）更为重要。
讲阿拉伯语的宗教领袖的信仰影响他们对精神疾病患者的反应方式，可能决定他们是否将患者转介给专业的精神卫生服务机构。了解他们的观点为分享信息提供了机会，有助于促进对讲阿拉伯语的精神疾病患者的协同护理。需要对阿拉伯语讲道者进行有关药物治疗精神疾病的作用机制和益处的更好教育。
