Beliefs about the causes of schizophrenia among Aymara and non-Aymara patients and their primary caregivers in the Central-Southern Andes
The aim of this study is to investigate differences in the beliefs about the causes of schizophrenia between Aymara and non-Aymara patients with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers. Ethnic background plays an important role in the formation of beliefs regarding the causes of illnesses such as schizophrenia, and there have been no prior studies on such beliefs among the Aymara, an indigenous community with a population of about 2 million people living in the Andes. We focused on three systems of beliefs: biological, psychosocial, and magical-religious. We hypothesized that Aymara patients and caregivers would hold higher levels of magical-religious and psychosocial beliefs, and lower levels of biological beliefs, than a comparison group of non-Aymara patients and caregivers. Also we investigated the socio-demographic and clinical correlates of magical, psychosocial, and biological beliefs among patients and caregivers.
METHODS:
The sample was comprised of 253 patients (n= 117 Aymara, and n=136 non-Aymara) of public mental health centers in Chile (33.6%), Peru (33.6%), and Bolivia (32.8%) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and each patient’s primary caregiver. We administered to patients and caregivers a questionnaire with scales assessing the perceived causes of schizophrenia. Linear regression models were fitted to compare differences in the levels of causal beliefs between Aymara and non-Aymara patients and caregivers, and to identify sociodemographic and clinical predictors of different types of beliefs about the causes of schizophrenia.
RESULTS:
Adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical covariates, Aymara caregivers had significantly mean higher levels of psychosocial beliefs (0.33, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.05, 0.62) than non-Aymara caregivers.
CONCLUSIONS:
Members of this ethnic minority has begun to reflect a "westernization" in their way of understanding schizophrenia. It may be necessary for mental health staff members to evaluate beliefs about the disorder, especially in ethnic minorities, before applying a standard model of treatment.