- Title
- Perceptions of mental illness among the residents of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa: The influence of culture and religion on their coping strategies.: subtitle if needed. If no subtitle follow instructions in manual
- Creator
- Sikrweqe, Odwa
- Subject
- Mental illness
- Subject
- Mental illness--Religious aspects
- Subject
- Mental illness-- Culture aspects
- Date Issued
- 2023-04
- Date
- 2023-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60445
- Identifier
- vital:65507
- Description
- Mental illness has become a global concern, with consequences that may result in a mental health pandemic. Studies conducted on mental illness suggest that religious and cultural beliefs not only affect the expression of mental illness, but also the diagnosis and treatment of mental conditions. South Africa is a country imbued with cultural and religious diversity, which creates different groupings of people, holding diverse beliefs regarding mental illness. In many contexts, supernatural beliefs, traditional healing and indigenous medicines and treatments are considered in the treatment of the symptoms associated with mental illnesses, especially on contexts where there is a reliance on religio-cultural beliefs. Even though there has been a significant increase in the contribution to research focusing on mental health in diverse contexts, much of this research has focused on subjective experiences. Little to no information is available on population-based studies in South Africa regarding mental illness in diverse contexts, thus limiting the generalisation of findings related to cultural and religious influences on mental illness. This dearth of information further limits the development of psychological interventions. The study aimed to explore how mental illness is perceived by the participants and thereafter explored the influence of culture and religion in coping with mental illness by the residents of the Eastern Cape. The study was quantitative in nature and adopted an exploratory-descriptive design. The researcher made use of a questionnaire as a research tool and QuestionPro was utilized as a platform. A convenience sampling technique was utilised. In ensuring rigour of the study, the researcher ensured maximal validity (accurate representation of the data) and reliability (ability to repeat the research procedure). Ethical principles have been adhered to as per the principles on the Belmont Report, to ensure safety of the participants and this includes anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from participation in the study. Data has been analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A sample size of 101 participants from the general population of residents of the Eastern Cape completed the online survey. The results of the study revealed that the residents of the Eastern Cape have substantial knowledge pertaining the cause of mental illness and indicated both positive and negative attitudes towards the mentally ill and possess coping strategies to deal with a mental illness. In addition, the results show that there is a relation between religion/culture and coping with a mental illness by the participants of the study. The findings of this study emphasize the necessity of public education efforts that understand and respect people's cultural diversity, as well as teamwork among traditional and medical professionals. Future studies should focus on the use of discourse analysis to better investigate indigenous groups' conceptions of mental illness and their views about its aetiology and treatment.
- Description
- Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural Science, 2023
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (147 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | SIKRWEQE, O.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |