|
Jehovah's
Witnesses and Mental Health
Please understand that this article is not mean as a put-down of the
Jehovah's Witnesses. I am simply displaying research information which
raises serious questions about the Watchtower Organization.
It has always been a belief of mine that cult groups put an
excessive burden of legalism upon their adherents -- this is because
they do not have a proper understanding of grace due to their lack of
understanding of who God is and what He has done for us. Often these
aberrant groups require substantial commitments of time and energy from
their membership in order to maintain a good standing in the group.
Since cults are typically short on grace and long on law (mixed with
group obligations, guilt-inducing teachings, and isolationism), I have
always assumed that this unnecessary difficulty would lead to emotional
and mental problems.
A few years ago, I heard of an article in a mental health journal
that documented the population percentages of Jehovah's Witnesses in
mental wards. It took some effort, but I found it. Following are
excerpts from that article. Judge for yourself if the Jehovah's Witness
organization contributed to the demise of some of its members.
(The following quotes are taken from the British Journal of
Psychiatry: the Journal of Mental Science. Published by authority of
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, Vol. 126, Ashford, Kent, Headley
Brothers LTD, 1975. The author is John Spencer.)
"During the period of 36 months from January 1971 to December 1973 there
were 7,546 inpatient admissions to the West Australian Mental Health
Service Psychiatric Hospitals. Of these 50 were reported to be active
members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement" (p. 557).
"Of the 50 admitted 22 were diagnosed as schizophrenic, 17 as
paranoid schizophrenic, 10 as neurotic and one as alcoholic" (pp. 557,
558).
| |
Total
admissions |
Annual rate
per 1,000 population |
Jehovah's
Witnesses admissions |
Annual rate
per 1,000 population |
|
All
diagnoses |
7,546 |
2.54 |
50 |
4.17 |
|
Schizophrenia (295) |
1,826 |
.61 |
22 |
1.83 |
|
Paranoid
schizophrenia (195.3) |
1,154 |
.38 |
17 |
1.4 |
|
Neurosis
(300) |
1,182 |
.39 |
10 |
.76 |
"From the figures gathered in the Table it is clear that members of the
Jehovah's Witnesses movement are over-represented in admissions to the
Mental Health Services of this State. Furthermore, it is clear from the
Table that the incidence of schizophrenia amongst them is about three
times as high as for the rest of the general population, while the
figure for paranoid schizophrenia is nearly four times that of the
general population" (p. 558).
"The study does not shed light on the question of symptom or
defense mechanism, but suggests that either the Jehovah's Witnesses sect
tends to attract an excess of pre-psychotic individuals who may then
break down, or else being a Jehovah's Witness is itself a stress which
may precipitate a psychosis" (p. 558).
Reproduced with the permission of
CHRISTIAN
APOLOGETICS AND RESEARCH MINISTRY
|
