Causes Of Mental Illness Research Articles

Attitudes towards mental illness among medical students in China: Impact of medical education on stigma.

Stigma towards people with mental illness impedes effective treatment. A recent study found that Chinese students were less socially accepting of people with mental illness than counterparts from other countries. The current study examined stigma among Chinese medical students at different levels of training. Medical students (N=1372 from 12 Chinese schools) were surveyed with a questionnaire addressing attitudes and beliefs about people with mental illness. Analysis of variance was used to compare responses from students: (1) with no psychiatry training; (2) who had only taken a didactic course; and (3) who had completed both a course and a clinical rotation. Specific attitudes were identified through factor analysis. Interest in further training and other personal experience were also examined. Factor analysis revealed attitudes favoring: (1) social acceptance of people with mental illness, (2) not believing in supernatural causes of mental illness, (3) bio-psycho-social causation, (4) rehabilitation, and (5) social integration. The absence of consistent trends across training levels suggested that education did not increase nonstigmatized attitudes. Areas of most stigmatization were low social acceptance and little favor for social integration. Measures most strongly correlated with nonstigmatized attitudes were as follows: interest in clinical psychiatry, belief that psychiatry should be more valued, and having friends with mental illness. Although medical school education showed little effect on attitudes, students with more individual experiences such as planning to continue clinical psychiatric training, believing psychiatry should be more valued, and having friends with mental illness had less stigmatized attitudes than others.

Mental health literacy, stigma and perception of causation of mental illness among Chinese people in Taiwan.

Few studies have been performed to explore mental health literacy and stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness and their relationships with causal beliefs about mental illness among Chinese people in Taiwan. Using a comparative approach, this study attempted to compare the mental health literacy and stigmatising attitudes of Taiwanese Chinese with those found among Australian and Japanese participants in other studies and to explore how mental health literacy and stigmatising attitudes relate to different perceptions of causes of mental illness. A convenience sample of 287 participants completed a battery of standardised questionnaires. A much lower percentage of Taiwanese people than Australians could correctly identify depression and schizophrenia. The Taiwanese respondents rated psychiatrists and clinical psychologists as more helpful than social workers and general practitioners (GPs) and expressed more uncertainty about the usefulness of certain medications when compared to the Australian and Japanese samples. Interestingly, Taiwanese Chinese hold similarly high levels of stigma towards schizophrenia, but lower levels of stigma towards depression when compared to the Japanese respondents. Taiwanese respondents who have higher levels of mental health literacy about schizophrenia were less willing to interact with people with schizophrenia than those with lower levels of mental health literacy. This study underlines the need for public education programmes to improve knowledge of various mental illnesses and to reduce stigmatising attitudes among Taiwanese Chinese. The aforementioned socially and culturally driven beliefs must be taken into consideration so that culturally relevant education programmes can be developed.

Perception of and attitude towards mental illness among residents of a community in south- south Nigeria

Context: The burden of mental illness is increasing steadily and cuts across every community.Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the perception and attitude towards mental illness among residents of a community in Nigeria.Study Design: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among residents of Obio Offot community in southern Nigeria in June 2016. Participants were selected using cluster sampling method and data collected with semi-structured, interviewer administered questionnaires and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Level of significance was set at 5%.Results: A total of 272 respondents participated in the study. The average age of respondent was 29.3 ± 10.14 years, consisting of 52.6% males and 47.4% females. Majority, 72.1% had tertiary education. Almost half of the respondents, 46.0% felt mental illness could not be cured. Various attitudes of the respondents towards the treated mentally ill included shame, 81.3%, unwillingness to share rooms,64.7%, and avoiding all contacts, 41.9%. Majority, 76.5% and 73.5% respectively, considered them as public nuisances and mentally retarded. Identified options of care included psychiatric hospital, 89.3% and church, 72.8%. Unwillingness to share room and perceiving the treated mentally ill as dangerous increased with literacy (p<0.05) The commonest perceived causes of mental illness were substance abuse, 92.3%, brain disease 86.4% and traumatic events 59.2%.Conclusion: Despite the high level of literacy among the respondents, there were many stigmatizing attitudes towards the treated mentally ill. A multi dimensional approach is needed towards ensuring social acceptance of the treated mentally ill.

Culturally prescribed beliefs about mental illness among the Akan of Ghana.

Mental illness is a culturally laden phenomenon, and different cultures have unique ways of constructing mental illness. In this study, conceptions of mental illness were explored among 30 participants of Akan descent in Ghana through individual and group interviews. Participants demonstrated a wide range of knowledge on mental illness indicating that poor self-care, deficits in social functioning, and disordered behaviors are the cardinal features of mental illness. The data revealed that Akan cultural beliefs influenced notions of etiology of mental illness and care of the mentally ill. While participants recognized the role of multiple factors such as genetics, substance abuse, daily hassles (for example, concerns about basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter), and trauma in the cause of mental illness, the predominant belief was that mental illness is a retributive and/or a spiritual illness. This belief encourages pluralistic health-seeking behaviors: use of hospitals, prayer camps, herbalists, and traditional healers. The implications of these findings for public health education on mental illness, and clinical training and practice are discussed.

Clients and carers perception of mental illness and factors that influence help-seeking: Where they go first and why.

In Northern Malawi, the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is longer than that in high-income countries. The reasons for the delay in help-seeking are not known, although studies show multiple reasons. This research was conducted to establish health care help-seeking behaviours and identify barriers that exist between service users and health care providers. The study also intended to establish the beliefs that clients and family members have regarding the causes of mental illness which profoundly shape help-seeking, care giving process and outcomes. The study employed the exploratory phenomenological method, utilizing focus group discussions (FGDs) in the sampled population. The Health Belief Model and Disease Explanatory Models were conveniently chosen a priori by researchers to develop guide questions to explore clients' and carers' perceptions of the illness and their health care help-seeking behaviours. Results show a bio-psycho-social inclination of disease causation and help-seeking behaviour. Causes of mental illness are understood in three categories, namely: physical/biological, psychological and socio-cultural. The majority of participants attributed mental illness to socio-cultural factors, with witchcraft, spirit possession and curses as main determinants. Causal perceptions also influenced help-seeking pathways. Many participants reported consulting traditional healers first, for diagnosis and to know who was responsible. In this study, it has been found that help-seeking is influenced by the understanding of the source of the illness - which has a bio-psychosocial inclination. The socio-cultural explanation of witchcraft and spirit possession is dominant and a determinant of help-seeking behaviour. While participants noted benefits to hospital treatment, barriers and bio-psychosocial in nature were also noted. Guardians and not clients hold the key to choice of treatment modality and therefore a potential ally in all treatment interventions promotive, preventive and curative. There is need for strengthening of a bio-psychosocial intervention model in the treatment of mental illness.

Attribution Through the Layperson's Lens: Development and Preliminary Validation of an Inclusive, International Measure of Beliefs About the Causes of Mental Illness

ABSTRACTAttributions, or beliefs about the causes of mental illness, have traditionally been dichotomized based on their locus, controllability, specificity, and stability. However, scholars have introduced an alternative lay beliefs model identifying attributions related to specific biological, social, and spiritual attributions. This research describes the potential benefits of this alternative model and outlines the validation of a comprehensive, international measure of lay beliefs, the Mental Illness Attribution Questionnaire (MIAQ). Validation included piloting, qualitative rating, confirmatory factor analysis, and evaluation of internal consistency, convergent validity, and test–retest reliability with a sample of 680 U.S.-based international students representing 94 nations. Scales measured attributions related to supernatural forces, social stress, lifestyle, health, substance use, heredity, and personal weakness. This structure was tested across 3 conditions—schizophrenia, depression, and alcoholism—demonstrating strong psychometric properties. The lay beliefs model appears to closely reflect the manner in which laypersons attribute cause for mental health problems, making it a natural fit for community-based research. Further, its validation with 2 international samples supports its utility in diverse populations. Together, the results support the MIAQ as a valid and reliable measure of mental illness attribution with potential for examining help-seeking and stigmatizing behavior across cultures.

Treatments for people living with schizophrenia in Sub-Saharan Africa: an adapted realist review.

To identify the treatments and interventions available and their impact on people living with schizophrenia in Sub-Saharan Africa. Help-seeking behaviour and the choice of treatment are largely influenced by socio-cultural factors and beliefs about the causes of mental illness. This review addresses the gap in knowledge regarding the treatment options available to people living with schizophrenia in Sub-Saharan Africa. Adapted realist literature review. Electronic databases searched in June 2016 included PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ProQuest and CINAHL. The adapted realist review approach used to synthesize the published research involved identifying the review aim, searching and selecting relevant studies, extracting, iteratively analysing and synthesizing relevant data and reporting results. Forty studies from eight countries were reviewed. Most people were treated by both faith/traditional healers and modern psychiatry. Common treatments included antipsychotics, electroconvulsive therapy and psychosocial interventions. Few treatment options were available outside major centres, there was poor adherence to medication and families reported a high level of burden associated with caring for a relative. Major limitations of this review were the lack of studies, variable quality and low level of evidence available from most countries from Sub-Saharan Africa and lack of generalizability. People living with schizophrenia in Sub-Saharan Africa were treated by faith, traditional healers and modern psychiatry, if at all. Further research is needed to better understand the local situation and the implications for caring for people from this region. Mental health services in Sub-Saharan Africa are limited by fiscal shortages, lack of mental health services and qualified mental health professionals. This review provides evidence to inform nursing and healthcare policy, including recruiting and training mental health professionals and ensuring access to evidence-based, person-centred and culturally relevant mental health services within the primary care context.

Etiology in psychiatry: embracing the reality of poly-gene-environmental causation of mental illness.

Intriguing findings on genetic and environmental causation suggest a need to reframe the etiology of mental disorders. Molecular genetics shows that thousands of common and rare genetic variants contribute to mental illness. Epidemiological studies have identified dozens of environmental exposures that are associated with psychopathology. The effect of environment is likely conditional on genetic factors, resulting in gene-environment interactions. The impact of environmental factors also depends on previous exposures, resulting in environment-environment interactions. Most known genetic and environmental factors are shared across multiple mental disorders. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, in particular, are closely causally linked. Synthesis of findings from twin studies, molecular genetics and epidemiological research suggests that joint consideration of multiple genetic and environmental factors has much greater explanatory power than separate studies of genetic or environmental causation. Multi-factorial gene-environment interactions are likely to be a generic mechanism involved in the majority of cases of mental illness, which is only partially tapped by existing gene-environment studies. Future research may cut across psychiatric disorders and address poly-causation by considering multiple genetic and environmental measures across the life course with a specific focus on the first two decades of life. Integrative analyses of poly-causation including gene-environment and environment-environment interactions can realize the potential for discovering causal types and mechanisms that are likely to generate new preventive and therapeutic tools.

“Why am I like this?” Consumers discuss their causal beliefs and stigma

ABSTRACTThe stigma associated with mental illness has several negative consequences for consumers (e.g., discrimination in employment and accommodation, reduced help-seeking, increased social isolation) and impacts their quality of life. Consumers’ beliefs around the causes of mental illness are thought to influence stigma and self-stigma. This study aims to investigate the types of causal beliefs consumers endorse about their own mental illness, mental illness in general, and consumers’ beliefs about causes endorsed by the public. Moreover, this study explores the impact that these beliefs have on factors that influence stigma and self-stigma. A thematic framework guided the analysis of semi-structured interviews with 23 consumers who self-identified as having mental illness. Consumers endorsed multiple causes simultaneously and causes differed between their own mental illness, thinking about mental illness in general, and the causal beliefs perceived to be held by the public. The majority of consumers thought that mental illness in general was caused by a combination of biogenetic, psychological, and environmental factors. Consumers endorsed fewer causal beliefs when considering their own mental illness, with all consumers stating that environmental factors contributed to their illness. Consumers thought that the public had a narrower range of causal beliefs and tended to think the public believed personal weakness/choice caused mental illness. Findings extend previous research and show that consumers’ causal beliefs may have an impact on several factors (e.g., control and management of illness, self-blame, feelings of responsibility, perceptions towards self) which are thought to influence treatment, recovery, and stigma.

Mental status assessment of disaster relief personnel by vocal affect display based on voice emotion recognition

BackgroundDisaster relief personnel tend to be exposed to excessive stress, which can be a cause of mental disorders. To prevent from mental disorders, frequent assessment of mental status is important. This pilot study aimed to examine feasibility of stress assessment using vocal affect display (VAD) indices as calculated by our proposed algorithms in a situation of comparison between different durations of stay in stricken area as disaster relief operation, which is an environment highly likely to induce stress.MethodsWe used Sensibility Technology (ST) software to analyze VAD from voices of participants exposed to extreme stress for either long or short durations, and we proposed algorithms for indices of low VAD (VAD-L), high VAD (VAD-H), and VAD ratio (VAD-R), calculated from the intensity of emotions as measured by voice emotion analysis. As a preliminary validation, 12 members of Japan Self-Defense Forces dispatched overseas for long (3 months or more) or short (about a week) durations were asked to record their voices saying 11 phrases repeatedly across 6 days during their dispatch.ResultsIn the validation, the two groups showed an inverse relationship in VAD-L and VAD-H, in that long durations in disaster zones resulted in higher values of both VAD-L and VAD-R, and lower values of VAD-H, compared with short durations. Interestingly, phrases produced varied results in terms of group differences and VAD indices, demonstrating the sensitivity of the ST.ConclusionsA comparison of the values obtained for the different groups of subjects clarified that there were tendencies of the VAD-L, VAD-H, and VAD-R indices observed for each group of participants. The results suggest the possibility of using ST software in the measurement of affective aspects related to mental health from vocal behavior.

Could a short training intervention modify opinions about mental illness? A case study on French health professionals

BackgroundIn France, negative views on schizophrenia are pervasive, even among health professionals. Prior research suggests that the level of prejudice is lower when the illness is described with the example of a specific individual. This finding highlights the importance of designing local, targeted destigmatization campaigns. The present study aims to evaluate the benefits of a short intervention offering contact with psychiatric services users on reducing the stigma about mentally ill people, among a sample of Health Administrators and Students.MethodsData were collected before (Time 0) and after (Time 1) a short training intervention program proposed to a sample of 121 Health Services Administrators and Students. This four-day workshop explained the multiple causes of mental illness, the clinical implications of psychosis and various mental disorders, the subjective experience of mental illness and the legal evolutions of users’ rights. The intervention was strongly based on live testimonies from users. Using a French version of the Attitudes to Mental Illness scale, we compared attitudes before and after the training intervention among 58 trainees having answered our questionnaire at Time 0 and Time 1.ResultsAfter the training, a significantly lower endorsement of stigmatizing statements compared to baseline was found in one third (9 out of 27) of the items. These results plead for further research about the potential benefits of initiatives like this short intervention program on significantly reducing stigmatizing attitudes towards mentally ill people among Health Administrators and Students.ConclusionsThe present study highlights the importance of further studying the effect of targeted interventions that offer first hand contact with persons with mental illness.

The Singaporean public beliefs about the causes of mental illness: results from a multi-ethnic population-based study.

To identify the common causal beliefs of mental illness in a multi-ethnic Southeast Asian community and describe the sociodemographic associations to said beliefs. The factor structure to the causal beliefs scale is explored. The causal beliefs relating to five different mental illnesses (alcohol abuse, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), dementia and schizophrenia) and desire for social distance are also investigated. Data from 3006 participants from a nationwide vignette-based study on mental health literacy were analysed using factor analysis and multiple logistic regression to address the aims. Participants answered questions related to sociodemographic information, causal beliefs of mental illness and their desire for social distance towards those with mental illness. Physical causes, psychosocial causes and personality causes were endorsed by the sample. Sociodemographic differences including ethnic, gender and age differences in causal beliefs were found in the sample. Differences in causal beliefs were shown across different mental illness vignettes though psychosocial causes was the most highly attributed cause across vignettes (endorsed by 97.9% of respondents), followed by personality causes (83.5%) and last, physical causes (37%). Physical causes were more likely to be endorsed for OCD, depression and schizophrenia. Psychosocial causes were less often endorsed for OCD. Personality causes were less endorsed for dementia but more associated with depression. The factor structure of the causal beliefs scale is not entirely the same as that found in previous research. Further research on the causal beliefs endorsed by Southeast Asian communities should be conducted to investigate other potential causes such as biogenetic factors and spiritual/supernatural causes. Mental health awareness campaigns should address causes of mental illness as a topic. Lay beliefs in the different causes must be acknowledged and it would be beneficial for the public to be informed of the causes of some of the most common mental illnesses in order to encourage help-seeking and treatment compliance.

Krankheitskonzepte von Patienten mit Schizophrenie: Eine triangulierende Untersuchung

Objective Therapists' and patients' concepts of illness often show severe discrepancies. This study explores the illness concepts of patients with schizophrenic disorders (n = 40). Methods Two German scales were used, the "Causal Belief Questionnaire" and the "Illness Concept Scale for Schizophrenic Patients". We compared our data with data published previously. A semi structured interview was performed in a convenience sample (n = 7). Results The domains "trust in medication" and "trust in the treating physician" yielded high scores, yet in comparison with data published 30 years ago, trust in medication is unaltered, while trust in psychiatrists is even slightly lower. Recent psychosocial factors scored high as a possible cause of mental illness. Several patients felt responsible for being mentally ill. No patient in the interview mentioned the neurotransmitter hypothesis of schizophrenia. Conclusion Illness concepts of patients with schizophrenic disorders are a complex phenomenon. Triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods proves to be a promising approach for future studies.

How many categories do we need?

Abstract of presentation by Prof. N. Sartorius.The presentation will discuss the dependence of the classification of mental disorders on its use. While scientists searching for causes of mental disorders or assessing the effectiveness of a new treatment will need highly homogenous groups of people showing a particular well defined syndrome, practicing clinicians will wish to limit the number of categories in a classification of mental disorders to a level which makes a difference in treatment or management. The World Health Organization has recognized this difference in need and preference and produced in the framework of the 10th Revision of the International Classification of diseases (ICD) a classification of mental disorders in three versions–a version for practicing psychiatrists, a version for use in scientific investigations and a version for use in primary health care. The three versions were translatable (“telescoped”) into each other. The field tests of the three versions of the classification demonstrated that they are easy to use, can be used reliably and fit the syndromes usually encountered in health care services. These findings further supported the Sir Aubrey Lewis’ proposal to accept the division of classifications into a public and several (or many) private versions translatable into each other.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

Mental health literacy about schizophrenia and depression: a survey among Chinese caregivers of patients with mental disorder

ObjectiveTo investigate the knowledge of schizophrenia and depression among caregivers of patients with mental disorder in China.MethodA convenience sample of 402 caregivers at the Department of Psychiatry of a general hospital in China was investigated (response rate 95.7%), using vignettes based investigation methodology.ResultsThe number of caregivers using the term “depression” to describe the depression vignette was 43.6%, which was significantly higher than the number of caregivers using the term “schizophrenia” to describe the schizophrenia one (28.5%). A high percentage of caregivers believed that “psychiatrist”, “psychologist” and “close family members” would be helpful, and the top three most helpful interventions were “becoming more physically active”, “getting out and learning more” and “receiving psychotherapy”. The number of caregivers endorsed “antipsychotics” and “antidepressants” as helpful for the schizophrenia and the depression vignettes were 82.0 and 80.7%, respectively. Regarding the causes of mental illness, items related to psychosocial factors, including “daily problems” and “work or financial problems”, and “weakness of character” were highly rated, with half considered genetic or chemical imbalance causes.ConclusionCaregivers expressed a high knowledge about treatments and interventions of mental disorders. But there are still some areas, particularly regarding the recognition and causes of mental disorders, that are in need of improvement. This is particularly the case for schizophrenia.

Psychophysiological correlates of emotion regulation training in adolescent anxiety: Evidence from the novel PIER task

BackgroundAnxiety disorders are the leading cause of mental illness in adolescence. While anxious adolescents show impairments in emotion processing and deficits in emotion regulation, few studies have attempted to improve emotion regulation within these populations. MethodThis study used a multi-method design to test a newly developed emotion regulation training aimed at improving insight into emotions and instructing cognitive reappraisal. The efficacy of cognitive reappraisal was investigated in 27 clinically anxious youth (Age: M=12.36, SD=2.59) and 43 healthy controls (Age: M=13.07, SD=2.19) using psychophysiological measures. Specifically, heart rate variability, pupil dilation, and visual fixations were recorded while youth had to up- or downregulate their emotions in response to affective pictures in the Psychophysiological Indicators of Emotion Regulation (PIER) task. ResultsThe novel training effectively improved self-reported emotion regulation and momentary anxiety in both groups. Moreover, initial group differences in emotional reactivity mostly disappeared when participants were instructed to apply emotion regulation in the task. However, pupil dilation data suggested that participants with anxiety disorders required more cognitive resources for the upregulation of negative affect to counteract this effect. LimitationsThe relatively small sample size and large age range could hamper detection of additional group differences that may exist. ConclusionsThe current study provides evidence that anxious youth can apply cognitive reappraisal to a similar extent as healthy adolescents after emotion regulation training but may need to exert more effort to do so. This training could be a valuable addition to current treatment programs.

Depression among the College Students: An Empirical Study

The most common psychological problems of college students are depression. Today depression is the serious issue in the world. Every nation invest a lot of money to solve psychological problems, depression is one of them. Research survey on college student's reports there will be 10 to 20% of student population suffering from psychological problems (Stress, Anxiety & Depression). So those kinds of problems are creating a barrier on the way of all round development. Depression is a serious illness among the students and long time depression has the causes of mental disorder. The aim of this study was to measure the depression among the college students and find out the significance of difference between male-female, rural-urban, science-arts, Hindu-Muslim students with regard to depression. The aim of this study also finds out the significance of difference on the basis of social class, academic years and job satisfaction with regards to depression. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was employed to measure the degree of depression and 160 students in arts and science streams were taken as representative sample of the whole population. The results presented that level of depression among college students and found that out of 160, 16.88% students are Minimal Depression, 35.62% students are Mild Depression, 41.25% students are Moderate Depression and the percentage of High level of Depression is 6.25. It is found that there is significant difference exists between Rural and Urban College students with regard to depression. The study revealed that there is no significant difference exists between gender (Male & Female), religion (Hindu & Muslim) and Stream (Science & Arts) students with regards to depression. The study also revealed that there is no significant difference on the basis of social class, academic years and job satisfaction with regards to depression.

Mental Health Literacy Among Undergraduate Students of a Saudi Tertiary Institution: A Cross-sectional Study.

The issue of mental health literacy has been widely studied in developed countries, with few studies conducted in Arab countries. In this study we aimed to investigate mental health literacy and attitudes towards psychiatric patients among students of Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A crosssectional study was conducted among undergraduate students using a validated Arabicversion questionnaire. A total of 557 students were recruited from different Jazan university colleges. The majority of students (90.3%) have intermediate mental health literacy. Regarding the etiology of mental illness, students agreed that genetic inheritance (45.8%), poor quality of life (65%) and social relationship weakness (73.1%) are the main causes of mental illness. The majority thought that mentally ill people are not capable of true friendships (52.5%) and that anyone can suffer from a mental illness (49.4%). Students’ attitudes towards psychiatric patients were mixed, with 68.7% reporting that they could maintain a friendship with a mentally ill person and that people with mental illness should have the same rights as anyone else (82.5%). Mental health literacy among university students was intermediate. There is an urgent need for health educational programs to change the attitudes of students regarding this important health issue.

Medical Student Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Mental Illness Across Five Nations.

Negative attitudes toward people with mental illness are a widespread concern and may vary across countries. This study used a 36-item questionnaire to compare attitudes toward people with mental illness and beliefs about the causes of mental illness among medical students from the United States, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, and China (N = 1131). Exploratory factor analysis identified the underlying factor structure of the questionnaire, and analysis of covariance was then used to compare factors representing four nonstigmatized attitudes across students from the five countries. US Medical students scored highest on all four factors, followed by those from Brazil. Nigerian and Ghanaian students scored lowest on nonsupernatural etiology of mental illness, and Chinese students showed the lowest score on personal social acceptance and public policy acceptance of people with mental illness. Differences in medical student attitudes between these five countries suggest underlying sociocultural differences in attitudes with the more stigmatized attitudes in developing countries.

Knowledge and conceptualisation of mental illness among the Muslim population in Harare, Zimbabwe

ABSTRACTReligion is a powerful force in people’s conception of mental illness. The extent to which Muslim populations in Zimbabwe understand and conceptualise mental illness is largely unknown. Thus, a descriptive cross-sectional study aimed at determining knowledge and conceptualisations of mental illness among Muslims was conducted in Harare. Seventy-one participants drawn from three mosques in Harare responded to self-administered questionnaires, which assessed their knowledge on causes, signs and symptoms as well as the treatment of mental illness. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Respondents defined mental illness within the social, spiritual and medical realms. The main perceived causes of mental illness were evil spirits (66%) and stress (62%). Treatment methods included medication (68%), prayer (66%) and Quranic verse recitations (64%). Both modern medicine and religious methods emerged as important in managing mental illness which suggests the need for a multi-sectoral approach.