Exploring the meaning of spirituality in Chinese schizophrenic patients

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study attempts to understand what spirituality means to individuals with schizophrenia. Literature so far has defined spirituality from the perspective of non-mental illness population. Spirituality in severe mental illness is underexplored, globally as well as among Chinese population. DESIGN: An exploratory qualitative design was employed because it allows researchers to study people’s spiritual experiences systematically. This study adopted grounded theory methodology by holding an open attitude to all kinds of perspectives throughout the entire investigation, without any presumed conceptual framework of spirituality. METHODS: 18 Chinese participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited from a hospital outpatient clinic in Hong Kong through psychiatrist referral. Semi-structured interviews on the meaning and experiences of spirituality were conducted. Interviews were transcribed into verbatim and analysed for emergent themes based on grounded theory. RESULTS: Spirituality is conceptualised as a human being immanent which consisted of five components: sensibility/intuition, mentality/wisdom, personal quality, sense of peace, and beliefs and attitudes. Additionally, most participants believe that spirituality can be enriched through connecting to one’s own self, others, the external world, and the transcendent. CONCLUSIONS: Three out of the five components (sensibility/intuition, mentality/wisdom, and sense of peace) are related to state of mind. The findings reveal that participants rarely associate spirituality to meaning/purpose in life and existential quest which are always mentioned in the existing literature. It is probably due to the cognitive impairments in schizophrenia and the influences of Buddhism (one of the major religions in China) which lays emphasis on state of mind.