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Life Events and Schizophrenia in Nigerians

A Controlled Investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Oye Gureje  and
A. Adewunmi
Oye Gureje*
Affiliation:
Aro Neuropsychiatry Hospital and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Nigeria
A. Adewunmi
Affiliation:
Aro Neuropsychiatry Hospital and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Nigeria
*
∗Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of South Manchester, Withington, Manchester M20 8LR
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Abstract

Forty-two first-episode RDC schizophrenic patients were matched on sociodemographic variables with an equal number of control subjects. The life-event histories of both groups for 6 months before onset or interview were compared. Onset of illness was not preceded by an increase in life events. The only significant observation was that control subjects had experienced more events in the month previous to interview. These were reported mainly by male control subjects, involved the family, and were possibly related to the period when the control subjects were interviewed. The observations are discussed within the context of the Nigerian culture.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 153 , Issue 3 , September 1988 , pp. 367 - 375
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

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