ArticleEuropean journal of psychotraumatology2015
Global mental health and trauma exposure: the current evidence for the relationship between traumatic experiences and spirit possession.
Article in European journal of psychotraumatology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Jinn-possession with psychosis, childhood traumatic experiences, and dissociation; a comparison with schizophrenia in the Southeastern region of Türkiye.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Voluntary and involuntary motor behaviours in the varieties of religious experience.Brain communications · 2025Review
- Article
- A new approach to cultural scripts of trauma sequelae assessment: The sample case of Switzerland.PloS one · 2024Article
- Ethical and Forensic Issues in the Medico-Legal and Psychological Assessment of Women Asylum Seekers.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Trapped Between Theological and Medical Notions of Possession: A Case of Possession Trance Disorder With a 3-Year Follow-Up.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Belonging home: capabilities, belonging and mental health recovery in low resourced settings.Health promotion international · 2021Article
- Case Report: An Atypical Presentation of Panic Disorder Masquerading as Possession Trance.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Differential executive functioning in the topology of Spirit possession or dissociative disorders: an explorative cultural study.BMC psychiatry · 2019Article
- Post-Dissociative Trance Disorder: Traditional Culture of Nini Pagar from Tigabinanga.Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences · 2019Article
- Global mental health and trauma: the current evidence and the long road ahead.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2015Article
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3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundWe present a literature review on trauma exposure and spirit possession in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite the World Health Organization's objective of culturally appropriate mental health care in the Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, and the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to consider local idioms of distress and to collaborate with local resources, this topic still receives very little attention. Pathological spirit possession is commonly defined as involuntary, uncontrollable, and occurring outside of ritual settings. It is often associated with stigmatization, suffering, and dysfunctional behavior. While spirit possession has been discussed as an idiom of distress in anthropological literature, recent quantitative studies have presented support for a strong relationship between traumatic experiences and pathological possession states.
objectiveThe aim of this review was to investigate this relationship systematically in LMICs, in view of the debate on how to address the mental health gap in LMICs.
methodsTwenty-one articles, published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 1994 and 2013, were identified and analyzed with regard to prevalence of possessive trance disorders, patients' sociodemographic characteristics, and its relation to traumatic experiences.
resultsThe review and analysis of 917 patients with symptoms of possessive trance disorders from 14 LMICs indicated that it is a phenomenon occurring worldwide and with global relevance. This literature review suggests a strong relationship between trauma exposure and spirit possession with high prevalence rates found especially in postwar areas in African countries.
conclusionsMore attention for possessive trance disorders in mental health and psychosocial intervention programs in humanitarian emergency settings as well as in societies in transition in LMICs is needed and justified by the results of this systematic literature review.
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