Use of religious and spiritual complementary practices among Chinese patients with schizophrenia: prevalence, perceived helpfulness, and associated factors

Background: Religious and spiritual practices are increasingly recognised as complementary approaches for managing severe mental illnesses, but their use among patients with schizophrenia in China remains poorly understood.

Objectives: To investigate religious affiliation, religious, spiritual, or folk healing practices, perceived helpfulness, and associated factors among Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A total of 299 clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia were consecutively recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Wuhan, China. A standardised questionnaire assessed religious affiliation, use of religious, spiritual, or folk healing practices for managing mental illness, and perceived helpfulness. Classification tree analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with practice use and perceived helpfulness.

Results: Overall, 36.5% of participants reported a religious affiliation, with Buddhism being the most common. More than half of participants (57.2%) had used religious, spiritual, or folk healing practices to manage their illness. Among users, 69.6% perceived these practices as helpful. The most commonly reported practices were Zen meditation (44.8%) and scripture chanting and religious rituals (24.1%). Classification tree analyses identified several factors associated with practice use, including belief in reincarnation and karma, non-conventional health beliefs, educational level, age, occupation, and family members’ supernatural beliefs. Religious affiliation and family members’ supernatural beliefs were additionally associated with perceived helpfulness.

Conclusion: Religious and spiritual complementary practices were common among Chinese outpatients with schizophrenia and were often perceived as helpful. These findings highlight the relevance of considering patients’ religious and spiritual practices in culturally sensitive psychiatric assessment and care.