Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24936082›Full record

ReviewSchizophrenia bulletin2014

Culture and hallucinations: overview and future directions.

Frank Larøi, Tanya Marie Luhrmann, Vaughan Bell, William A Christian, Smita Deshpande, Charles Fernyhough, Janis Jenkins, Angela Woods

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Schizophrenia bulletin, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
66citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
7.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

66 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 244 citations in OpenAlex.

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  13. Gauteng mental healthcare providers' understanding of cultural and religious illnesses.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2025
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6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.

Frank LarøiDepartment of Psychology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;
Tanya Marie LuhrmannDepartment of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; luhrmann@stanford.edu.
Vaughan BellKing's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK;
William A ChristianDepartment of Social Anthropology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain;
Smita DeshpandeDepartment of Psychiatry and Addiction Services, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India;
Charles FernyhoughDepartment of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK;
Janis JenkinsDepartment of Anthropology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA;
Angela WoodsCentre for Medical Humanities, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Durham University · GBAtal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital · INKing's College London · GBStanford University · USUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona · ESUniversity of California, San Diego · USUniversity of Liège · BE

Funding

Wellcome Trust 086049Wellcome Trust 098455Wellcome Trust 098455/Z/12/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A number of studies have explored hallucinations as complex experiences involving interactions between psychological, biological, and environmental factors and mechanisms. Nevertheless, relatively little attention has focused on the role of culture in shaping hallucinations. This article reviews the published research, drawing on the expertise of both anthropologists and psychologists. We argue that the extant body of work suggests that culture does indeed have a significant impact on the experience, understanding, and labeling of hallucinations and that there may be important theoretical and clinical consequences of that observation. We find that culture can affect what is identified as a hallucination, that there are different patterns of hallucination among the clinical and nonclinical populations, that hallucinations are often culturally meaningful, that hallucinations occur at different rates in different settings; that culture affects the meaning and characteristics of hallucinations associated with psychosis, and that the cultural variations of psychotic hallucinations may have implications for the clinical outcome of those who struggle with psychosis. We conclude that a clinician should never assume that the mere report of what seems to be a hallucination is necessarily a symptom of pathology and that the patient's cultural background needs to be taken into account when assessing and treating hallucinations.

Indexed as

CultureReligion and PsychologyCulturally Competent CareHallucinationsHumanscultureethnographyhallucinationpsychosisreligion

Identifiers

PMID24936082
PMCPMC4141319
OpenAlexW2124162986

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.