Spirit possession and neuroticism in West Indian Pentecostal community.
The British journal of clinical psychology November 1, 1981 DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1981.tb00530.x via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAmong regular members of a West Indian Pentecostal congregation, those who experienced spirit possession scored higher on measures of neuroticism and hysteria than those who did not. The 10 possessed subjects had significantly elevated scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory's neuroticism scale and the MMPI hysteria scale compared to the control group. The authors suggest that spirit possession may represent a culture-bound neurotic disorder.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Regular members of a West Indian Pentecostal congregation |
| Citations | 16 |
| Key finding | Spirit-possessed subjects scored significantly higher in neuroticism and hysteria than non-possessed controls. |
Abstract
The experiment is focused on the relationship between spirit possession and neuroticism as assessed by psychometric techniques. Twenty subjects who were regular members of a West Indian Pentecostal congregation were interviewed and tested with the EPI and the hysteria scale of the MMPI. Analysis of data indicated that the 10 subjects who were defined as spirit possessed scored significantly high in both neuroticism (P less than 0.05) and hysteria (P less than 0.005) than did the control group. In light of these data and others it was suggested that possession constitutes a culture-bound neurotic disorder.