Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study
Background and aimsPsychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are hallucinatory or delusional experiences that fall below the threshold of a diagnosable psychotic disorder. Although PLEs are common across the spectrum of psychiatric disorders, they also have been commonly reported in the general population....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.988913/full |
| _version_ | 1828111537268588544 |
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| author | Arij Yehya Salma M. Khaled Iris E. C. Sommer Peter Woodruff Peter Woodruff Suhad Daher-Nashif |
| author_facet | Arij Yehya Salma M. Khaled Iris E. C. Sommer Peter Woodruff Peter Woodruff Suhad Daher-Nashif |
| author_sort | Arij Yehya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and aimsPsychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are hallucinatory or delusional experiences that fall below the threshold of a diagnosable psychotic disorder. Although PLEs are common across the spectrum of psychiatric disorders, they also have been commonly reported in the general population. In this study, we aimed to describe the types of PLEs experienced by university students in Qatar. Furthermore, we aimed to examine how students frame, explain, and deal with these experiences as well as understand how culture and religion may shape the way students attribute and respond to these experiences.MethodThis study used a qualitative phenomenological approach. For collecting the data, we conducted semi-structured interviews using the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE). The QPE is a valid and reliable tool to assess the phenomenology of psychotic-like experiences. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic and tested and validated in Qatar (a fast-developing Muslim country in the Arabian Peninsula). We conducted interviews in Arabic with 12 undergraduate female students at Qatar University (the only national university in Qatar). The interviewees were of different Arab nationalities. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and two authors conducted the content-thematic analysis separately, as a strategy to validate the findings. The study was part of a larger nationally funded project that was approved by the Qatar University Institutional Review Board. The approvals were granted before any interview was conducted.ResultsThe PLEs were prevalent in our non-clinical sample. The content-thematic analysis revealed the following main themes about these experiences: type, impact on daily function, frequency, immediate reaction, attribution style, assumptions about the root cause of these experiences, other associations, and religious links to experiences. The results also highlighted that religion and culture play a role in shaping the types of hallucinations and some delusions.ConclusionOur findings support the importance of culture and religion in relation to the types and explanations that students provided when describing PLEs. Notably, it was common among those who reported having these experiences to normalize and link PLEs to real-life events. This may be a defense mechanism to protect the self against the stigma of mental illness and from being labeled as “abnormal”. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:37:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f1a6ec04d7ae4d84831da0910eb36238 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:37:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-f1a6ec04d7ae4d84831da0910eb362382022-12-22T04:25:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402022-09-011310.3389/fpsyt.2022.988913988913Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological studyArij Yehya0Salma M. Khaled1Iris E. C. Sommer2Peter Woodruff3Peter Woodruff4Suhad Daher-Nashif5Core Curriculum Program, Qatar University, Doha, QatarSocial and Economic Survey Research Institute, Qatar University, Doha, QatarDepartment of Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, NetherlandsPsychiatry Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, QatarDepartment of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United KingdomDepartment of Population Medicine, College of Medicine, Qatar University (QU) Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarBackground and aimsPsychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are hallucinatory or delusional experiences that fall below the threshold of a diagnosable psychotic disorder. Although PLEs are common across the spectrum of psychiatric disorders, they also have been commonly reported in the general population. In this study, we aimed to describe the types of PLEs experienced by university students in Qatar. Furthermore, we aimed to examine how students frame, explain, and deal with these experiences as well as understand how culture and religion may shape the way students attribute and respond to these experiences.MethodThis study used a qualitative phenomenological approach. For collecting the data, we conducted semi-structured interviews using the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE). The QPE is a valid and reliable tool to assess the phenomenology of psychotic-like experiences. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic and tested and validated in Qatar (a fast-developing Muslim country in the Arabian Peninsula). We conducted interviews in Arabic with 12 undergraduate female students at Qatar University (the only national university in Qatar). The interviewees were of different Arab nationalities. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and two authors conducted the content-thematic analysis separately, as a strategy to validate the findings. The study was part of a larger nationally funded project that was approved by the Qatar University Institutional Review Board. The approvals were granted before any interview was conducted.ResultsThe PLEs were prevalent in our non-clinical sample. The content-thematic analysis revealed the following main themes about these experiences: type, impact on daily function, frequency, immediate reaction, attribution style, assumptions about the root cause of these experiences, other associations, and religious links to experiences. The results also highlighted that religion and culture play a role in shaping the types of hallucinations and some delusions.ConclusionOur findings support the importance of culture and religion in relation to the types and explanations that students provided when describing PLEs. Notably, it was common among those who reported having these experiences to normalize and link PLEs to real-life events. This may be a defense mechanism to protect the self against the stigma of mental illness and from being labeled as “abnormal”.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.988913/fullpsychotic-like experiencesnon-clinical sampleuniversity studentsculturereligionMiddle East |
| spellingShingle | Arij Yehya Salma M. Khaled Iris E. C. Sommer Peter Woodruff Peter Woodruff Suhad Daher-Nashif Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study Frontiers in Psychiatry psychotic-like experiences non-clinical sample university students culture religion Middle East |
| title | Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study |
| title_full | Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study |
| title_fullStr | Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study |
| title_short | Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study |
| title_sort | psychotic like experiences among university female students in qatar a qualitative phenomenological study |
| topic | psychotic-like experiences non-clinical sample university students culture religion Middle East |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.988913/full |
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