Coping with auditory hallucinations: a cross-cultural comparison between western (British) and non-western (Saudi Arabian) patients.

The majority of schizophrenic patients from Western backgrounds develop strategies to cope with the positive symptoms of their condition. However, there is little evidence to indicate how these coping mechanisms are affected by cultural background. Seventy schizophrenic patients from Saudi Arabia (SA) and the United Kingdom (UK) who reported auditory hallucinations were interviewed to explore the ways in which they coped with their voices and sounds. Patients from both cultures had several coping mechanisms, but these varied between cultures. The majority of SA patients used strategies associated with their religion whereas UK patients were more likely to use distraction or physiologically based approaches. The majority of patients were slightly or not at all confident about the effectiveness of their coping strategies. This study suggests that clinicians, when they attempt to facilitate the use of such strategies, may find greater patient acceptance and efficacy if they are familiar with culturally specific factors.