Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
September 1, 2013
Marjolein Van Duijl, Wim Kleijn, Joop De Jong
30 citations
Spirit possession is a common way Ugandans express distress. This study examined how local possession symptoms align with DSM-IV and proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Using interviews and a symptom checklist with 119 possessed patients, researchers identified two symptom dimensions: passive (e.g., feeling influenced by outside powers, strange dreams, hearing voices) and active (e.g., shaking, talking in a spirit's voice). Local symptoms matched DSM-IV possession trance disorder and DSM-5 dissociative identity disorder criteria, but passive-influence experiences were not well captured. The authors argue that these experiences should be more explicitly described in DSM-5 criteria and question the proposed merging of possession trance disorder into dissociative identity disorder.
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
October 1, 2023
Nicholas L Bormann, Andrea N Weber, Benjamin Miskle et al.
6 citations
Perceptions of risk from psychedelics differ by race and age. Analyzing 2019 data from 41,679 respondents in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, a majority rated both LSD (66.7%) and heroin (87.3%) as a great risk if used once or twice. White respondents and those reporting more than one race perceived significantly lower risk from LSD than other racial and ethnic groups. Perceived risk also increased significantly with age. These disparities likely reflect stigma and racial inequalities in drug-related crimes. As research into psychedelics’ therapeutic potential continues, these perceptions may shift.
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
February 1, 2026
Błażej Misiak, Julian Maciaszek
1 citation
Religiosity has multiple dimensions: intrinsic, extrinsic organizational, and extrinsic non-organizational. A longitudinal study of 5,099 general population adults, followed for 6–7 months, found bidirectional associations between intrinsic religiosity and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and related distress. PLEs and distress also predicted higher levels of extrinsic non-organizational religiosity, but not its changes over time. These associations had small effect sizes. No significant associations emerged for extrinsic organizational religiosity. The findings suggest complex, reciprocal links between more intimate forms of religiosity and PLEs.
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
July 1, 2024
Kesheng Wang, Saima Shafique, Nianyang Wang et al.
1 citation
Using data from 19,270 individuals in the 2015–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health who had developed hypertension, the average age at onset of hypertension was 42.7 years. Earlier first use of alcohol, cigars, smokeless tobacco, marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine was associated with a significantly earlier onset of hypertension compared with never using those substances. After accounting for other factors, early-onset (before age 18) use of alcohol, smokeless tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, and methamphetamine each increased the risk of earlier hypertension onset, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.22 to 1.85. The findings suggest that preventing substance use before age 18 may help delay the development of hypertension in adulthood.