Patterns and variations in delusions in patients in western North Carolina psychiatric systems

Delusions must be clearly understood by mental health professionals to therapeutically relate to the patient and effect change in the behaviors brought forth through altered thought processes. What factors affect the content and frequency of delusions manifested by patients in western North Carolina? This question was investigated at an inpatient psychiatric facility in western North Carolina. Data were collected from all patients exhibiting delusions who were admitted from September 10, 1985 through March 10, 1986. These patients resided in either Avery, Buncombe, Gaston, Haywood, Madison, Mecklenburg, or Watauga Counties. The sample was divided into two major groups: those patients residing in one of the three metropolitan counties and those residing in one of the four rural mountain counties.

The subjects in the study typically had at least a tenth grade education and had either never married, were divorced or separated. Most often they resided in metropolitan Buncombe or Mecklenburg counties. The content of the delusions most frequently manifested was of a persecutory nature and the subjects generally expressed a preference for the Baptist faith. Other findings and implications for further research are given.