Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T03:22:08.941Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Imams’ Experience With and Response to Mosque-Goers With OCD Scrupulosity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2019

Mairwen K. Jones ,
Lynne M. Harris  and
Rajezi Sepideh Esfahani
Mairwen K. Jones*
Affiliation:
Discipline of Behavioural and Social Sciences in Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Lynne M. Harris
Affiliation:
Discipline of Psychological Sciences, Australian College of Applied Psychology, Australia
Rajezi Sepideh Esfahani
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychology Department, University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
*
*Corresponding author: Mairwen Jones, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumberland Campus, East Street, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, University of Sydney, Australia. Email: mairwen.jones@sydney.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

The experience of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms that have a religious theme is common. Recent research has found that religious participants with religious OCD symptoms frequently turn to religious advisors, such as imams or clergy, for help to understand and alleviate their symptoms. As such, the advice provided by imams or clergy may have an important impact on the response of the person seeking help. This study examined the attitudes, beliefs and experiences of 64 Muslim imams with mosque-goers who had religious OCD symptoms, particularly scrupulosity. This study also examined imams’ familiarity with first-line psychological treatments for OCD such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Sunni imams from Australia and Shia imams from Iran completed an online survey based on the research of Deacon, Vincent, and Zhang (2012), which was conducted with Christian clergy in the United States. Results showed that the majority of imams were unfamiliar with scrupulosity as a possible symptom of a mental health problem, such as OCD, and with ERP as a recognised treatment for OCD. While 37% of participants reported having been approached by mosque-goers for help with scrupulosity, only 9% referred mosque-goers to mental health professionals, and only one imam reported having referred a mosque-goer for ERP. Sunni imams located in Australia were more likely to provide advice inconsistent with the ERP approach and were also significantly less likely than Shia imams located in Iran to recommend referral to a mental health professional who was not affiliated with their own religious denomination. Finally, Sunni imams had significantly higher scores than Shia imams on Thought Action Fusion (TAF) subscales. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that TAF explained a considerable amount of the variance related to ERP-inconsistent advice. Research implications and limitations are discussed.

Keywords

obsessive compulsive disorderreligionscrupulositythought action fusionimam
Type
Standard Paper
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , April 2019 , pp. 29 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramowitz, JS (2008). Scrupulosity. In Abramowitz, J, McKay, D and Taylor, S (Eds.), Clinical handbook of obsessive-compulsive disorder and related problems (pp. 157–172). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press.Google Scholar
Abramowitz, JS, Huppert, JD, Cohen, AB, Tolin, DF and Cahill, SP (2002). Religious obsessions and compulsions in a non-clinical sample: The Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 825–838.Google Scholar
Akuchekian, S, Jamshidian, Z, Maracy, MR, Almasi, A and Davarpanah Jazi, AH (2011). Effectiveness of religious-cognitive-behavioral therapy on religious oriented obsessive compulsive disorder and its co-morbidity. Journal of Isfahan Medical School, 28, 1647–1651.Google Scholar
Al-Solaim, LS and Loewenthal, KM (2011). Religion and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among young Muslim women in Saudi Arabia. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 14, 169–182.Google Scholar
Albayrak, I (2012). Friday Sermons and the Question of home-trained Imams in Australia. Australian e-Journal of Theology, 19, 29–42.Google Scholar
Altin, M and Gencoz, T (2011). How does thought-action fusion relate to responsibility attitudes and thought suppression to aggravate the obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 39, 99–114.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.Google Scholar
Bobes, J, Gonzalez, M, Bascaran, M, Arango, C, Saiz, P and Bousono, M (2001). Quality of life and disability in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. European Psychiatry, 16, 239–245.Google Scholar
Cohen, J (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Deacon, B, Vincent, A and Zhang, A (2013). Lutheran clergy members’ responses to scrupulosity: The effects of moral thought-action fusion and liberal vs. Conservative denomination. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 2, 71–77.Google Scholar
Foa, EB, Liebowitz, MR, Kozak, MJ, Davies, S, Campeas, R, Franklin, ME … Schmidt, AB (2007). Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of exposure and ritual prevention, Clomipramine, and their combination in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. FOCUS: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 5, 368.Google Scholar
Fontenelle, IS, Fontenelle, LF, Borges, MC, Prazeres, AM, Range, BP, Mendlowicz, MV and Versiani, M (2010). Quality of life and symptom dimensions of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 179, 198–203.Google Scholar
Ghassemzadeh, H, Khamseh, A and Ebrahimkhani, N (2005). Demographic variables and clinical features of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Iran: A second report. In Ling, BE (Ed.), Obsessive compulsive disorder research (pp. 243–271): Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Greenberg, D and Shefler, G (2008). Ultra-orthodox rabbinic responses to religious obsessive-compulsive disorder. Israel Journal of Psychiatry & Related Sciences, 45, 183–192.Google Scholar
Hassan, R (2015). Australian Muslims: A demographic, social and economic profile of Muslims in Australia 2015. Retrieved from http://www.unisa.edu.au/siteassets/episerver-6-files/global/eass/mnm/publications/australian_muslims_report_2015.pdfGoogle Scholar
Huppert, JD and Siev, J (2010). Treating scrupulosity in religious individuals using cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 17, 382–392.Google Scholar
Ironson, G, Stuetzle, R, Ironson, D, Balbin, E, Kremer, H, George, A … Fletcher, MA (2011). View of God as benevolent and forgiving or punishing and judgmental predicts HIV disease progression. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 34, 414–425.Google Scholar
Koran, LM, Hanna, GL, Hollander, E, Nestadt, G and Simpson, HB (2007). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 5–53.Google Scholar
Mahintorabi, S, Jones, MK & Harris, LM (2017). Exploring professional help seeking in practicing Muslim Women with obsessive compulsive disorder washing subtype in Australia. Religions, 8, 137.Google Scholar
Mahintorabi, S, Jones, MK, Harris, LM and Zahiroddin, A (2015). Religious observance and obsessive compulsive washing among Iranian Women. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 7, 35–42Google Scholar
Maxwell, SE (2000). Sample size and multiple regression analysis. Psychological Methods, 5, 434–458.Google Scholar
McKay, D (2006). Treating disgust reactions in contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 37, 53–59.Google Scholar
Miller, CH and Hedges, DW (2008). Scrupulosity disorder: An overview and introductory analysis. [Review]. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 1042–1058.Google Scholar
Nasr, V (2007). The Shia revival: How conflicts within Islam will shape the future. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company.Google Scholar
National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). (2006). Obsessive-compulsive disorder: core interventions in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder (vol. 31; NICE Clinical Guidline 31). Retrieved from www.nice.org.uk.Google Scholar
Nelson, EA, Abramowitz, JS, Whiteside, SP and Deacon, BJ (2006). Scrupulosity in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: Relationship to clinical and cognitive phenomena. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 1071–1086.Google Scholar
Okasha, A, Saad, A, Khalil, A, El Dawla, AS and Yehia, N (1994). Phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A transcultural study. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 35, 191–197.Google Scholar
Parrinder, EG (1983). World religions: From ancient history to the present. New York. NY: Barnes and Noble Books.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center (2009). Mapping the global Muslim population: A report on the size and distribution of the world's Muslim population. Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Rassin, E, Merckelbach, H, Muris, P and Schmidt, H (2001). The thought-action fusion scale: Further evidence for its reliability and validity. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 39, 537–544.Google Scholar
Rowa, K, Antony, M and Swinson, R (2007). Exposure and response prevention. In Purdon, C, Antony, M and Summerfeldt, LJ (Eds.), Psychological treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder: Fundamentals and beyond (pp. 79–109). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Shafran, R, Thordarson, DS and Rachman, S (1996). Thought-action fusion in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 10, 379–391.Google Scholar
Shooka, A, al-Haddad, MK and Raees, A (1998). OCD in Bahrain: A phenomenological profile. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 44, 147–154.Google Scholar
Storch, EA, Abramowitz, JS and Keeley, M (2009). Correlates and mediators of functional disability in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 26, 806–813.Google Scholar
Subramaniam, M, Abdin, E, Vaingankar, JA and Chong, SA (2012). Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Prevalence, correlates, help-seeking and quality of life in a multiracial Asian population. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 2035–2043.Google Scholar
United States Department of State (2017). 2016 Report on International Religious Freedom — Iran. Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/59b7d89912.htmlGoogle Scholar
Wills, TA and DePaulo, BM (1991). Interpersonal analysis of the help-seeking process. In Snyder, CR & Forsyth, DR (Eds.), Pergamon general psychology series, Vol. 162. Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (pp. 350–375). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Yaryura-Tobias, JA and Neziroglu, FA (1997). History, culture and clinical aspects of OCD In Yaryura-Tobias, JA & Neziroglu, FAE (Eds.), Obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum (pp. 3–32). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
Yorulmaz, O, Gencoz, T and Woody, S (2009). OCD cognitions and symptoms in different religious contexts. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 401–406.Google Scholar
Yorulmaz, O, Karanci, AN, Bastug, B, Kisa, C and Goka, E (2008). Responsibility, thought-action fusion, and thought suppression in Turkish patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64, 308–317.Google Scholar
Yorulmaz, O, Karanci, AN and Tekok-Kilic, A (2002). Inflated responsibility in obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Presentation in the XII National Psychology Congress.Google Scholar
Yorulmaz, O, Yilmaz, AE and Gencoz, T (2004). Psychometric properties of the Thought-Action Fusion Scale in a Turkish sample. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 42, 1203–1214.Google Scholar