RT Article
T1 Mental illness has multiple causes: beliefs on causes of mental illness by congregants of selected neo-prophetic churches in Ghana
JF Mental health, religion & culture
VO 21
IS 7
SP 647
OP 666
A1 Salifu Yendork, Joana
A2 Brew, Gladys Beryl
A2 Sarfo, Elizabeth A.
A2 Kpobi, Lily
LA English
YR 2018
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1839003901
AB The present study explored perceived causes of, and preferred treatment approach for, mental illness among congregants of six Neo-prophetic churches in Accra and Kumasi through in-depth interviews. Using thematic analysis, five themes emerged from participants’ causal attributions of mental illness. These included lifestyles and environmental stressors, spiritual causes, interaction of multiple factors, trauma and biological causes. Additionally, participants discussed four main mechanisms through which stress leads to mental illness. These included persistent worrying over stressors, use of inappropriate coping strategies to cope with stress, refusal to talk about one's problems and individuals’ appraisal of stress and available coping resources. These beliefs directly determined congregants’ preferred treatment approach. Implications of the findings are discussed.
K1 Mental Illness
K1 causal explanation
K1 Congregants
K1 neo-prophetic churches
K1 Spirituality
DO 10.1080/13674676.2018.1511694