Understanding Patients’ Beliefs about Voices (Auditory Hallucinations) and Patients’ Adopted Coping Strategies

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to obtain information regarding the understanding of the schizophrenic patients’ beliefs about voices (auditory hallucinations) and their adopted coping strategies. The Ways of Coping Checklist, a Semi-Structured Questionnaire and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale were used to explore the beliefs patients suffering from schizophrenia have about auditory hallucinations and the ways of coping patients adopt to cope with auditory hallucinations. The participants were in-patients with clinical diagnoses of schizophrenia. The results indicated that there were significant differences between men and women in the strategies adopted in coping with auditory hallucination. Further, the young and old did not differ in the coping strategies they have adopted for coping with auditory hallucinations; and also beliefs about the intention of the voice affected one's affective response to auditory hallucinations. The results revealed that most patients’ suffering from auditory hallucinations believe that auditory hallucinations have supernatural causes. Ways of coping with auditory hallucinations varied from praying to taking medication.