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Results for “Superstitions”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Superstition, risk-taking and risk perception of accidents among South African taxi drivers.

The aim of this study was to investigate taxi drivers' superstition and risk perception of accidents as well as risk-taking in an urban area in South Africa. One hundred and thirty drivers of minibuses, so-called "taxis" were interviewed on the basis of: (1) a superstition scale; (2) a risk-taking scale; (3) a list of perceived causes of road traffic accidents. Drivers showed largely superstitious attitudes and expressed a high degree of risk-taking behavior. Superstition was positively correlated with the number of self-reported accidents the drivers had been involved in and the number of accidents they had witnessed. Path analysis revealed a direct path from superstition to accident involvement while the influence of formal education was negligible. Risk-taking was inversely correlated with driving experience and the number of accidents witnessed but not so with the number of accidents involved in. There was no clear pattern of associations between superstition and risk-taking and perceived causes of accidents. Superstition and risk-taking were slightly and inversely correlated with each other. It is concluded that superstition represents an attitude that is associated with a driver's accident risk, and further research on superstitious attitudes among South African drivers is advocated.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2002

Superstitions regarding health problems in different ethnic groups in Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the superstitions regarding health problems in different ethnic groups, their implications over the socio-economic development of that group and to what extent can those superstitions be related to their level of literacy. METHODS: The study was a questionnaire-based survey, 20 subjects from each ethnic group were selected by cluster sampling of residential areas where that particular group has its highest concentration, making a total of 100 subjects. RESULTS: It was found that most people (73%) do have some superstitious beliefs. Fifty percent of people believe in them as a part of culture and tradition, another 25% got them from their elders. No significant difference was found between different racial groups (p value = 0.9). According to literacy rate, 73.5% of literate community and 94.1% illiterate community were found to have superstitions. The occupation of the breadwinner of family didn't have a significant impact over the belief in superstitions (p value = 0.6). CONCLUSION: Majority of our population believes in superstitions, which are more common in illiterates. These superstitions not only predict health seeking behaviour of a person but also play a major role in shaping the response of a community to any health intervention program. Without the knowledge of these superstitions, effective community participation cannot be achieved.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

[The attitude and behavior toward superstitions and proverbs].

Two hypotheses were developed: 1) People who have experienced many misfortune and calamities believe in superstitions and proverbs and often practise them as compared to those with few or no such experience; and 2) university students' attitude and behavior toward superstitions and proverbs are related to those of their parents. One hundred and three students and their 103 parents (father or mother) were asked to indicate: 1) their attitude and practice regarding each of 42 superstitions and proverbs; 2) past visits to fortunetellers and exorcism rites; and 3) past experience of misfortune and calamities. People with experience of misfortune and calamities had a higher ratio than those without such experience only in "visits to fortunetellers and exorcism rites." There was no such trend in the 42 superstitions and proverbs. There was a close parent-child relation in the attitude toward superstitions. A similar relation was observed in superstitious practice in family life. However, no parent-child relationship was found for the proverb-related attitude and behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of superstition on the date of hospital discharge and medical cost in Japan: retrospective and descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the influence of superstition about Taian (a lucky day)-Butsumetsu (an unlucky day) on decision to leave hospital. To estimate the costs of the effect of this superstition. DESIGN: Retrospective and descriptive study. SETTING: University hospital in Kyoto, Japan. SUBJECTS: Patients who were discharged alive from Kyoto University Hospital from 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean number, age, and hospital stay of patients discharged on each day of six day cycle. RESULTS: The mean number, age, and hospital stay of discharged patients were highest on Taian and lowest on Butsumetsu (25.8 v 19.3 patients/day, P=0.0001; 43.9 v 41.4 years, P=0.0001; and 43.1 v 33.3 days, P=0.0001 respectively). The effect of this difference on the hospital's costs was estimated to be 7.4 million yen (¿31 000). CONCLUSION: The superstition influenced the decision to leave hospital, contributing to higher medical care costs in Japan. Although hospital stays need to be kept as short as possible to minimise costs, doctors should not ignore the possible psychological effects on patients' health caused by dismissing the superstition.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Traditional Chinese religious beliefs and superstitions in delusions and hallucinations of Chinese schizophrenic patients.

Religious beliefs and superstitions have an important impact on the psychopathology of psychiatric patients. Traditional Chinese religious beliefs and superstitions, such as fortune telling, Buddhist gods, Taoist gods, historical heroic gods and ancestor worship, have important influence on subjective psychotic experiences, in particular delusions and hallucinations. By means of empirical phenomenological case narration, the writer shows that all these traditional Chinese religious beliefs and superstitions tend to affect the contents, manifestation and meaningfulness of delusion and hallucination. They also serve as a means to replace clients' self-identity. They appear in the form of a supernatural force to resolve all difficulties, cause of troubles and misfortune, stress and coping mechanisms.

Asian People↗

PubMed1983

[Superstition, faith, delusion].

The superstitious person makes use of various projective mechanisms and establishes a connection between two events or between an object and an event which are not causally related. Superstition can be understood as a narcissistic attempt at compensation by persons lacking self-confidence, who feel themselves to be under an existential threat. Religious belief can be defined as a commitment to an ultimate meaning in life. Absolute faith requires hope, in fact genuine faith is unthinkable without hope. A prerequisite, an underlying emotional substrate, of the development of faith is trust, in the sense of basic trust. A characteristic of genuine religious belief is orthopraxy, the practical application of faith in this world. The integrity of religious belief is in itself vulnerable, since, unlike delusion, it can be modified. Delusion is a disturbance of thought content which is maintained with absolute conviction. The deluded person is not capable of doubting or correcting the false belief. Transition from faith to superstition and vice versa is often fluid. Superstition can be the starting point for delusional ideas. It must be distinguished from delusion and in most cases it is easy to do so. The superstitious person feels secure in his world, while the deluded person breaks out of this security and places himself outside the community, outside the society that supports him.

Delusions↗

PubMed1975

Were girl babies sacrificed to a folk superstition in 1966 in Japan?

Although it was expected by observers in Japan that the potency of belief in the superstition of the year of Fire-horse would be made apparent by a decrease in births and an increase of the induced abortion rate, an increase of infant mortality rate was not anticipated. However, an analysis of the early neonatal mortality rate of accidents and violence revealed a remarkable increase for girls but not for boys in 1966, the most recent year of Fire-horse. This fact is consistent with the superstition that women born in the year of Fire-horse are ill-fated.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

'Saturday flit, short sit'--a strong influence of a superstition on the timing of hospital discharges?

'Saturday Flit, Short Sit' is a phrase recognised by 58% of our patient population. The superstition implies that leaving hospital on a Saturday is bad luck and will mean early re-admission to hospital. 13.7% of all patients interviewed would refuse to go home on a Saturday and 40% of doctors would allow postponement of discharge because of the patients superstition.

Humans↗

PubMed1983

Clusters of disaster: superstition and the physician.

Throughout history the belief in magic has existed in all cultures. This paper outlines the effects that some of these beliefs have on medical conditions and focuses on the magical belief that "things happen in threes." Case histories are given in illustration, and the use of "counter magic" is described in the treatment of the anxieties evoked by the superstition.

Adult↗

PubMed1975

Increased induced abortion rate in 1966, an aspect of a Japanese folk superstition.

Adecrease of about 463 000 live births occurred in Japan in 1966, constituting a sharp departure from the linear trend before and after. This was partly caused by contraception and partly by induced abortion. The induced abortion rate, 43.1 per 1000 births in the year (a total of 65 000), was significantly higher than the 30.6 expected (46.200 total) from the regression trend computed from the years 1963 to 1969. No epidemics were reported in 1966 which might have caused the increase in abortion. It is more likely to be due to observance of Hinoe-Uma (Elder Fire-Horse), which comes round every sixty years by zodiac almanac. This event represents a superstition observed only by the Japanese, in whcih it is a bad omen for female babies to be born in the year. 1966 was the most recent year of Hinoe-Uma.

Abortion, Induced↗

PubMed2002

Traffic deaths and superstition on Friday the 13th.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared deaths from traffic accidents on Friday the 13th with those on other Fridays in a national population. METHOD: The author examined the daily deaths from traffic accidents by sex and age and the mean daily temperature in Finland, 1971-1997. Adjusted risk ratios for death on Friday the 13th versus other Fridays were obtained by negative binomial regression. RESULTS: In men, the adjusted risk ratio for dying on Friday the 13th, compared with other Fridays, was 1.02, but for women, it was 1.63. An estimated 38% of traffic deaths involving women on this day were attributable to Friday the 13th itself. CONCLUSIONS: Friday the 13th may be a dangerous day for women, largely because of anxiety from superstition. The risk of traffic deaths on this date could be reduced by one-third, although the absolute gain would remain very small: only one death per 5 million person-days.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1987

Maternal stress, superstition and communicative behaviour with Nigerian cleft lip and palate children.

This study examines, through video recordings and interviews, superstitions held by families of children with cleft lip and palates (CLP) and the mothers' communicative relationship with them. 10 CLP children, 10 non-cleft (NC) children and their mothers, were the subjects. Evil spirits were cited as the dominant cause of the cleft. Husbands or the extended family blamed the mother for the defect in 70% of the homes. Negative family support was evident in 6 of the families. Mothers of CLP children were indulgent with them, but afforded them less autonomy than did mothers of NC children. There was also more linguistic sensitivity between mother and CLP child than within the control group, perhaps facilitating language development in the CLP children. Mothers were, however, withdrawn in relation to children with unrepaired cleft lips. Family education and counselling were recommended.

Child Language↗

PubMed2000

[Medicine and religion in Spanish anti-superstition discourse of the 16th to 18th centuries: a battle for hegemony].

The object of this research is the study of the different kinds of relationships between medicine and religion that appear in the Spanish anti-superstition discourse from the 16th to the 18th century. Despite the relationship of alliance and collaboration between the two professional groups proposed by the Spanish theologians in their essays, situations of conflict and mutual distrust could also arise. The professional physician could be an ally of the Christian priest but also a dangerous rival.

Catholicism↗

PubMed1988

The eighth-month fetus: classical sources for a modern superstition.

Among obstetric patients from diverse backgrounds, we found a superstition that the prognosis for preterm infants born at eight months' gestation is poorer than for those born at seven months. After several women on a high-risk inpatient unit spontaneously expressed fears caused by this belief, we investigated its origin. A treatise attributed to Hippocrates is devoted to the idea, which appears to have been current in the Greek world by the fifth century BC. The doctrine was elaborately developed by subsequent Greek physicians and philosophers. It appears in the Talmud and in medieval texts, as well as in early modern medical writings. The unquestioning citation of a dogma of the Ancients until modern times is a common phenomenon in medical history. The persistence of this ancient scientific doctrine as an "old wives' tale" causing inappropriate patient anxiety makes it interesting to the modern obstetrician.

Gestational Age↗

PubMed1959