ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Etiological illness concepts of patients with schizophrenia are an important factor for the drug compliance as well as for a successful psychotherapeutic approach. These cognitive representations are influenced by issues like the illness, culture, gender, and age. The aim of this study was the elaboration of the interaction of these factors with special consideration of the gender aspect. METHOD: The notions about the reasons of illness were explored by means of a 41-item standardized self-rating instrument in 240 patients suffering from schizophrenia from Pakistan and Austria. RESULTS: Only in the scale "conflicts" the mean values for Austrian women were statistically significant higher than for their male counterparts. In Pakistani patients we found no significant differences, patients with an early age at onset of illness more frequently reported a magic-religious explanatory model in both cultures. Austrian patients with a longer duration of illness believed more often that the outbreak of the illness was caused by negligent behaviour. CONCLUSION: While gender has important effects on course and outcome of schizophrenia, the influence on etiological illness concepts is rather weak. Two reasons can be postulated: (a) The acquirement of knowledge about the development of mental disorders is culture-specific, but not gender-specific, (b) psychotic disorders are even out originally existing gender differences.
