Citation

Linde PR. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry 1996; 18(6): 440-443.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8937912

Abstract

A rural Zimbabwean man attributed the appearance of needles in his leg to witchcraft, but medical practitioners suspected that the needles were self-introduced. Psychiatric evaluation revealed no major mental illness. The patient met criteria for the Euro-American diagnosis of factitious disorder, persisting in his claim that he had been the victim of witchcraft. The patient's claim cannot be considered delusional because belief in witchcraft is culturally sanctioned within Shona culture. The case appears to be one of factitious disorder with both physical and psychological symptoms. Differential diagnoses must be broadened to consider culturally specific phenomena such as witchcraft.

Language: en