Cross-cultural analysis of eventfulness in the lives of people with schizophrenia

Abstract

Eventfulness as a strategy for creating a meaningful life is an important component of the attempts of people with schizophrenia to present a positive self-image. This study of patients with schizophrenia shows that the phenomenon of creating eventfulness through normalcy accounts is relevant cross-culturally, with common themes occurring in the speech of participants from Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Both patient (n = 23) and nonpatient (n = 27) participants from these two countries were interviewed as part of a larger research project. Conversational speech of participants was analyzed for passages that could be defined as normalcy accounts. A total of 61 such accounts were obtained from the conversational samples. The three most common themes of normalcy accounts (educational achievement and goals, national pride, and travel) were characteristic of the self-presentation of nonpatient subjects as well as patients with schizophrenia. Normalcy themes varied slightly depending on nationality and patient or nonpatient status. The similarity of both normalcy account themes and presentation, however, was remarkably consistent across cultures.