This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Yeung, A. Articles by Chang, D. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yeung, A. Articles by Chang, D. F. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Mental Health Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Prevalence and Illness Beliefs of Sleep Paralysis among Chinese Psychiatric Patients in China and the United States

Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, ayeung{at}partners.org

Yong Xu

Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical School, rulai{at}public9.sta.net.cn

Doris F. Chang

Ohio University, changd{at}newschool.edu

To investigate the prevalence and illness beliefs of sleep paralysis (SP) among Chinese patients in a psychiatric out-patient clinic, consecutive Chinese/Chinese-American patients who attended psychiatric out-patient clinics in Boston and Shanghai were asked about their lifetime prevalence, personal experience and perceptions regarding the causes, precipitating factors, consequences, and help-seeking of SP. During the 4-month study period, 42 non-psychotic psychiatric out-patients from the Boston site and 150 patients from the Shanghai site were interviewed. The prevalence of SP was found to be 26.2% in Boston and 23.3% in Shanghai. Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or panic disorder reported a higher prevalence of SP than did patients without these disorders. Patients attributed SP to fatigue, stress, and other psychosocial factors. Although the experience has traditionally been labeled ‘ghost oppression’ among the Chinese, only two patients, one from each site, endorsed supernatural causes of their SP. Sleep paralysis is common among Chinese psychiatric out-patients. The endorsement of supernatural explanations for SP is rare among contemporary Chinese patients.

Key Words: Chinese • primary care • sleep paralysis

Transcultural Psychiatry, Vol. 42, No. 1, 135-145 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1363461505050725


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. Gangdev Comments on Sleep Paralysis Transcultural Psychiatry, December 1, 2006; 43(4): 692 - 694. [PDF]