Ag. Weisman et Sr. Lopez, FAMILY VALUES, RELIGIOSITY, AND EMOTIONAL-REACTIONS TO SCHIZOPHRENIA IN MEXICAN AND ANGLO-AMERICAN CULTURES, Family process, 35(2), 1996, pp. 227-237
This study was designed to test whether two sociocultural variables, f
amily cohesion and religiosity, related to affective reactions toward
schizophrenia. It was hypothesized that increasing perceptions of one'
s family as cohesive and religious would be associated with the expres
sion of more favorable and less unfavorable emotions toward patients w
ith the disorder. Eighty-eight Anglo-American undergraduates from Los
Angeles and 88 Mexican undergraduates from Guadalajara read vignettes
of a hypothetical family member described as meeting DSM-IC criteria f
or schizophrenia. Results of this study suggest that perceptions of fa
mily unity may be one important factor underlying emotional reactions
toward factor underlying emotional reactions toward schizophrenia. As
expected, increasing perceptions of family cohesion were associated wi
th greater reports of favorable emotion and decreased reports of unfav
orable emotion toward the patient. However after controlling for socia
l desirability, family cohesion no Longer significantly predicted unfa
vorable affect. Contrary to expectations, religiosity was not found to
predict unfavorable or favorable emotions. However religiosity was fo
und to covary with nationality. Mexicans, compared to Angles, reported
greater moral-religious values in. their families. No national differ
ences were found with respect to family cohesion. Implications of this
study are discussed along with suggested directions for future resear
ch.