[Religious and spiritual attitudes of patients with schizophrenic or affective disorders]

In psychiatry and psychotherapy religion and spirituality were for a long time mainly considered as a pathological and neurotic phenomenon. Nowadays they are increasingly accepted as an independent dimension and resource.

By means of a questionnaire, inpatients of 3 hospitals with schizophrenic (F2) or affective (F3) disorders were interviewed shortly before discharge about their religious and spiritual attitude with regard to therapy, coping with psychiatric disorder and hospital based pastoral care. General religiousness of the participants was measured using the centrality scale of the Structure of Religiosity Test.

Of the 216 participants 25% rated themselves as not religious, 61% as religious, and 14% as highly religious. Diagnosis, education, sex, duration of illness and self-evaluation of current mental health status had no significant statistical impact on the importance of religion. Higher age and importance of religion were positively correlated. Hospital based pastoral services were perceived as very helpful. Results indicate positive effects of religiousness on coping with the psychiatric disorder.

For three of four patients religion and spirituality play a more or less important role in their life. In a clinical as well as in a scientific context this dimension should be paid more regard in psychiatry and psychotherapy.