Impact of Islam on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety Disorders
Debated for centuries, the correlation between religions, how it affects and impacts on mental health has been going on for centuries (Hayward & Krause, 2016). The importance of the correlation concerning religion, religiosity and mental health status has been recognized in past research in affecting symptomatology such as obsessions, delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia. However, how religion, with a focus on Islam in the MENA countries impacts on the prevalence, symptomatology, health seeking behavior of the individual and community and management modalities has to be extensively researched on (Goncalves, Luchetti, Menezes & Vallada, 2015). This research aims to demystify the relationship between Islamic religion including practices, personal beliefs and Quran teachings to obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders in Middle East and North African countries with specific to Bahrain.
This research will conducted with the following aims and objectives:
To determine the impact of Islam as a religion on obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders in MENA countries, Bahrain, from 1st November to 30th December, 2018.
- To analyze the how religion impacts on the prevalence and incidence of OCD and other anxiety disorders in the Bahama and Ajam ethnic groups of Bahrain.
- To find out how the level of religiosity and spirituality in the different regions and ethnic variations affect the development and prognosis of OCD and anxiety disorders.
- To determine the influence of religion on the psychological distress caused by OCD and anxiety disorders in the ethnic groups.
- To evaluate how religion affects the people’s health seeking behavior and its impact on treatment outcome.
In most recent studies done by Clements & Koenig, 2014, the impacts of religious coping on the mental outcomes of the patients has been illustrated with relation to particular life stress events and the influence on the mental health of the patients in relation to depression, suicidal tendencies and schizophrenic delusions and hallucinations (Mölsä, Kuittinen, Tiilikainen, Honkasalo, & Punamäki, 2017). In a broader focus study, a recent study determined that although religion, religiosity and spirituality may increase the symptomatology such as obsession, anxiety, delusions and hallucinations, religion has a buffering effect on the severity of the stressful life events thus increase the coping mechanisms in response to stress (Gardner, Krägeloh & Henning, 2014).
Addressing the theoretical features of human development, focusing on the moral, religious development and mental health outcomes, Aging with God, examines the effects of religion on the diagnosis and management of some of the mental health disorders of concern to older patients and the resourcefulness of religion in the management and outcome (Abu-Raiya, Hisham, Kenneth & Krause, 2016).
Illustrated by Weber et al, religion and spirituality can promote good mental health through positive coping, support through church and community structures and beliefs that positively impact on health. However, the same research explains how religion and spirituality has negative impacts on mental health following negative beliefs, misunderstandings, miscommunication and negative religious coping. In the treatment and management, tools for assessment include religious beliefs and spiritual themes have been used to provide better prognosis.
Research Objectives
Described by Robert, Maton & Pargament in their book “Religion and prevention in Mental Health” highlights how religion can be used in prevention of mental illness however this has remained highly underutilized (Hess, Maton & Pargament, 2014). In their article, the authors dispute the damaging notion religion has to mental health and instead focus on the framework required to prevent development of mental disorders using religious resources.
Therefore, this research intends to determine the impacts of Islamic religion on the OCD and anxiety disorders of the people living in Bahrain, part of the MENA. This is necessary since the subject has not been fully investigated yet mental health remains to be a serious public health concern (Henderson & Ellison, 2015) in the MENA regions.
A cross-sectional study will be conducted as the standard in investigating the bearings of region, Islam, on the mental status and health of the people of Bahrain (Mackey & Gass, 2015). This study would focus solely on the obsessive compulsive disorders and anxiety disorders. This cross-sectional study would involve data collected over specific period of time. This study would involve distinctive data collection involving past events, originally collected data and statistics. A cross-sectional design was selected in this research project because it allows collection of large amounts of data over a wide geographical area at a cheaper cost than the other research modalities. Since in this research project a specific group, the people of Bahrain, are looked at to how the practice of their Islamic religion is related to the development, progression, maintenance and prognosis of OCD an anxiety disorders. From the cross-sectional study therefore, if Islamic religion and spirituality impacts positively or negatively on mental health specifically on OCD and anxiety disorders, this would confirm or deny the hypothesis of the research project and therefore answer the broad and specific objectives (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).
A structured interview with questionnaires will be used in the research to collect the data, Brinkmann, 2014.
This research project id focused on the two different ethnic groups of the people of Bahrain. Participants would be patients suffering from OCD an anxiety disorders. The people are Muslims practicing the Islamic religion, Lewis (2015). The inter and intragroup comparison structure of this research project would involve comparison of the people’s distinctive religious lifestyles, behaviors and attitudes as learn from the general guidance of the Quran and how these aspects of religion are relating to their mental health in impacting on the OCD and anxiety disorders. The people of Bahrain are used in the study because they are two ethnic groups of the same Islamic religion and are a member state of the Middle East North Africa (MENA) (Gonçalves, Lucchetti, Menezes & Vallada, 2015). Bahrain is an Islamic state, most citizens being Muslims. There are two group of the Shia and Sunni Muslims. The research will consider participants from Al Hidd, Manama, Western Region, Hawar islands and Rifa municipalities.
Literature Review
This research project intends to collect qualitative data and therefore a convenient sample size will be calculated using the formula: , Silverman (2016)
Where the sample size=n, p=prevalence of OCD an anxiety disorders in Bahrain, f=precision factor an d=difference of true value.
Therefore, from the prevalence of OCD an anxiety disorders is calculate as
Hence the sample size to be use n=550. With five regions selected, 110 participants will be obtained from each region.
The sampling frame of the sample size would be obtained from the registered psychiatric centers records and register of the mental illness patients suffering from OCD and anxiety disorders.
Since religion is an independent variable examined in the correlation with mental health and specifically OCD and anxiety disorders, complex analytic models are used. Theoretical developments describe the correlation between Islamic religion and mental health (Smith, 2015).
Qualitative data analysis that will be employed in the research project will be the grounded theory data analysis. This will aim to formulate and test prepositions until when a theory explaining the impact of religion on OCD and anxiety disorders (Lim, Hoek & Blom, 2015) The following four stages of data analysis will be used: data coding, similar concept codes are grouped, similar concepts will be grouped into broad categories and a theory to explain the results of the research formulated based on the data collected (Silverman2016). The aim of this data analysis method would be to ensure data saturation. To provide a deeper meaning and theoretical paradigm to explaining the correlation between Islamic religion and OCD and anxiety disorders, grounded theory will be used in the dissertation.
Informed consent and assent.
The guidelines for the protection of human subjects will be followed. Informed consent will be obtained within the standard operations, following approval of the study procedures. Each potential participant will be read the consent form that addresses their rights and welfare as a participant in the study and given time to ask questions (Vaioleti,2016). If the participants agree to partake in the study, they will indicate consent/assent by word of mouth. Participants will be informed before the start of the interview that if they are uncomfortable, they can stop the interview at any time.
Personal participant privacy will be respected and none of their personal identifiers shall be used on the data collection and storage forms. Data collection forms will be kept a good clinical practice (GCP) compliant storage area after the project and data entry are completed (Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit & Rasmus, 2014). Data will be stored in electronic databases that are right-protected and to which only authorized personnel: researcher, investigators and supervisor have access (Flick, 2015).
Positive and Negative Impacts of Religion and Spirituality on Mental Health
No major direct risks are involved apart from the inconvenience involved in taking the time to obtain consent or assent to take part in the study. No additional risks will be involved for the research team.
The benefit of participation in this evaluation outweighs the risks. The participants will enjoy a free medical and psychiatric support where medical and psychological provisions will be provided.
The researcher does not anticipate any major risks during the course of the study. Although sample collection will be a one-time point event, the medical and psychiatric support to the participants will be a form of incentive.
a). Human fetuses, or neonates: They are not included in the study
b). Children: Persons at least 9 years old will not be included in this study. This is so because children are under their parental care and guidance and are presumed not to make their own decisions regarding religious practices, behaviors and attitudes.
The research project is estimated to take a duration of 2 months, from the 1st of November to the 30th of December. This process would start by validation and approval of the ethical consideration by the university body. The process of data collection would then start immediately after sampling of the population and consent (Flick,2015).
The researcher will be involved in several community support events and medical camp related to mental health. During the time stipulated for the research, the research team has identified a number of community events to participate in as a way of giving back to the society (Silverman, 2016).
The dissemination of the research findings is intended to raise awareness and an understanding of the impacts of Islamic religion on mental health which will in turn change practices for better prognosis. The identified audiences of this dissemination process would be health stakeholders in governments, clinicians, charity organizations and learning institutions, Brownson, 2017. Research findings will also be disseminated back to the participants, clinicians, community and patients. The timeline of the dissemination process will be a month after conclusion of the research project. Considering the good expertise in the research team, dissemination of the research findings would be through the following media: science database websites, conferences, traditional and print media, journals and electronic material. With the quality of data and findings to be disseminated (Brownson, 2017), the research findings will be relevant for global use and therefore achieve a global coverage. Due to differences in political and religious beliefs, research findings may not be perceived well by different groups and therefore would be a huge threat to utilization of the findings in prevention and management of mental health disorders (Mahjoob, Nejati, Hosseini & Bakhshani, 2016).
Tools for Assessment and Diagnosis
Qualitative studies on the influence of religion, religiosity and spiritualism on health are necessary for understanding the ethos of faith and therefore the particular ways in which people connect these 2 constructs. Provided by the separation between spiritual and scientific views, qualitative research is helpful in the collection of primary data on people’s, communities or societies’ discernments of the connection between faith and mental health (Achour, Grine, Nor & MohdYosoff, 2015), moreover as for determining significance and relevance of the many hypothesized mechanisms for religion’s effects on health. This study would be notably helpful for assessing doable variations within the means and contributions of faith as mirrored across diverse ethnic and racial subgroups and will give exhaustive info on each variations on a range of religious topics (Moreira?Almeida, Sharma, van Rensburg, Verhagen & Cook, 2016). Therefore, the understanding and increased awareness of the impacts of faith on mental health would be utilized in the management of more mental illnesses, resulting into better prognosis.
In conclusion, Achour, Grine, Nor & MohdYosoff (2015), analysis on the determinants of faith that have impacts on the psychology and mental health status of individuals is currently a research topic of interest within the subspecialties of medical sciences such as psychiatry and public health. Therefore, stakeholders in these disciplines and professions are determined to analyze, research and understand the recent theoretical and conceptual methods, that can be used in explaining or understanding the character of spiritualism and also the dynamics of the particular practices, beliefs and teachings of religion, especially Islam, that have been linked with particular mental disorders. This studies would hence be relevant in improving efficacy of current management protocols for quality mental disorder management and prevention.
References
Achour, M., Grine, F., Nor, M. R. M., & MohdYusoff, M. Y. Z. (2015). Measuring religiosity and its effects on personal well-being: a case study of Muslim female academicians in Malaysia. Journal of religion and health, 54(3), 984-997.
Brownson, R. C. (2017). Dissemination and implementation research in health: translating science to practice. Oxford University Press.
Clements, W. M., & Koenig, H. G. (2014). Aging and God: Spiritual pathways to mental health in midlife and later years. Routledge.
Gardner, T. M., Krägeloh, C. U., & Henning, M. A. (2014). Religious coping, stress, and quality of life of Muslim university students in New Zealand. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 17(4), 327-338.
Gonçalves, J. P., Lucchetti, G., Menezes, P. R., & Vallada, H. (2015). Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Psychological medicine, 45(14), 2937-2949.
Hayward, R. D., & Krause, N. (2014). Religion, mental health, and well-being: Social aspects. Religion, personality, and social behavior, 255-280.
Hayward, R. D., Krause, N., Ironson, G., Hill, P. C., & Emmons, R. (2016). Health and well-being among the non-religious: Atheists, agnostics, and no preference compared with religious group members. Journal of religion and health, 55(3), 1024-1037.
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Hess, R. E., Maton, K. I., & Pargament, K. (2014). Religion and prevention in mental health: Research, vision, and action. Routledge.
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Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.
Mahjoob, M., Nejati, J., Hosseini, A., & Bakhshani, N. M. (2016). The effect of Holy Quran voice on mental health. Journal of religion and health, 55(1), 38-42.
Mölsä, M., Kuittinen, S., Tiilikainen, M., Honkasalo, M. L., & Punamäki, R. L. (2017). Mental health among older refugees: the role of trauma, discrimination, and religiousness. Aging & mental health, 21(8), 829-837.
Moreira?Almeida, A., Sharma, A., van Rensburg, B. J., Verhagen, P. J., & Cook, C. C. (2016). WPA position statement on spirituality and religion in psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(1), 87-88.
Nadal, K. L., Griffin, K. E., Wong, Y., Hamit, S., & Rasmus, M. (2014). The impact of racial microaggressions on mental health: Counseling implications for clients of color. Journal of Counseling & Development, 92(1), 57-66.
Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Weber, S. R., & Pargament, K. I. (2014). The role of religion and spirituality in mental health. Current opinion in psychiatry, 27(5), 358-363.
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