Perceptions of problematic behavior by southern female black fundamentalists and mental health professionals

Perceptions of problematic behavior by mental health professionals were found to be significantly different from those of a sample of Southern black female fundamentalists. Ten vignettes, each describing problematic behaviors, were used to elicit responses that were dichotomized as “mental illness/no mental illness,”; and “treatment/ no treatment.”; Among the fundamentalists, most “no mental illness”; responses were related to religious belief. Other responses labeled behaviors as immoral, criminal, or psychic. Types of management recommended by black subjects often included prayer and religious counseling. These findings support the notion that transcul‐tural nursing studies should pay attention to those religious beliefs that may underlie what is perceived as “normal”; or “abnormal.”;