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In 1975 author John Spencer presented a study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia.
Spencer found Jehovah’s Witnesses are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. He also found members are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and that paranoid schizophrenia is nearly four times as prevalent among Jehovah’s Witnesses compared with the general population.[1]
In 1975 author John Spencer presented a study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia.
Spencer found Jehovah’s Witnesses are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. He also found members are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and that paranoid schizophrenia is nearly four times as prevalent among Jehovah’s Witnesses compared with the general population.[1]
Those who think Spencer’s finding is somehow an overstatement should read the long letter written by a licensed psychologist who is also a Watchtower appointed elder. See what he had to say on the subject in the articles Elder Involvement — Graphic Presentation and Jehovah’s Witnesses — mental health?.
The problem is real.
Marvin Shilmer
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References:
1. Spencer, The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses, British Journal of Psychiatry, 1975, 126: 556-559.
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