Indicators of Psychopathological Symptoms Among Selected Church Attendants in Lagos

Abstract

In order to assess the various forms of psychopathologies present in church attendants, the symptom Distress checklist – 90 (SCL – 90), Religious Affiliation Schedule (RAS), and Psycho Physiological Symptoms Checklist (PSC) were administered individually to 400 participants (M = 200, F = 200) with mean age of males being 30.5 years, and females 34.29 years.
Three hundred (300) participants (M = 150, F = 150) were selected from a church population, while one hundred (100), (M = 50, F = 50) were selected from the outpatient departments of the Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba and Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Results showed the Psychiatric patients obtaining higher mean scores compared with the church attendants in nine (9) out of the ten (10) measures of the SCL – 90 and the PSC. Church attendants who obtained the highest mean scores on the RAS also obtained highest mean scores on the hostility scale of the SCL – 90.
Using the one – way ANOVA, significant differences were obtained in 11 out of the 12 measures tested in the study between the religious groups and the psychiatric patients.
It can be concluded from this study that psychopathological symptoms were not completely absent in the religious groups, when compared with psychiatric patients but the scores obtained in the religious groups could be as a result of everyday stressors.


Keywords: Psychopathological Symptoms

NQJHM Vol. 16 (2) 2006: pp. 76-79