Kausar Suhail

The present study aimed to assess the actual content of delusions of Pakistani schizophrenic patients by gender and social class. A total of 98 schizophrenic patients (48 men and 50 women) from the two psychiatric units in Lahore, Pakistan, were interviewed using the Present State Examination categories. When the sample was analysed as a whole, the delusion of persecution was found to be the most common one followed by the delusion of grandiose identity. When the sample was divided according to gender and social class, two subgroups with surprisingly similar themes of delusions emerged from the analysis, one male and wealthy and the other female and poor. The themes of having special powers and being a star were more frequently found among the former, whereas the themes of black magic, persecution, being controlled and erotomania appeared to be more conspicuous among the latter. The results indicated that the phenomenology of delusions differs in subgroups of the population depending on their socio-cultural roles and specific vulnerabilities.

Background: The present study was conducted to compare the influence of culture and immediate environment on the phenomenology of schizophrenic symptoms by examining the actual content of delusions and hallucinations in three groups of schizophrenic patients. Method: Pakistanis living in Britain (BP; N = 53), Pakistanis in Pakistan (PP; N = 98) and British White (BW; N = 50). The content of the patients' delusions and hallucinations was obtained from medical records and key-workers' reports from All-Saints Hospital, Birmingham and two psychiatric units in Lahore. All references to delusions and hallucinations were coded in accordance with the classification scheme developed for the Present State Examination (Wing et al., 1974). Results: Comparisons indicated greater differences in phenomenology of delusions and hallucinations between the Pakistani pair (BP vs. PP) than between the British groups (BP vs. BW). The findings suggested a stronger influence of the immediate environment on the pathogenesis of delusions and hallucinations. Conclusions: The results are discussed with reference to the cultural and religious values of the ethnic groups.