Literature Review #4

 Citation:

Al-Adawi, Samir, et al. “Differential Executive Functioning in the Topology of Spirit Possession 

or Dissociative Disorders: An Explorative Cultural Study.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 19, no. 

1, BioMed Central Ltd, 2019, pp. 379–379, doi:10.1186/s12888-019-2358-2.

Summary:

This is about a study about spirit possession in Oman that examines the neurological aspects of it. It talks about how spirit possession is studied and seen in Oman and also explores the possibility of the cause being dissociative disorders. 

Author(s):

Samir Al-Adawi, one of the researchers in the study, works in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Key Terms

Dissociation, spirit possession

Three Quotes:

"Omani vernacular”, which are “intermittent dissociative phenomenon” and “transitory dissociative phenomenon.”

“appears to have been ‘taken over' by a spirit or other supernatural forces continuously, though the expression of possession might wax and wane.”

“is transitory in nature whereby the individual is possessed for a short duration, often associated with stressful events.”

Value:

The value of this study for my paper is that it helps provide a possible explanation behind the phenomena of possession and why people who were considered and believed to be possessed might have actually just suffered from a dissociative identity disorder. DID has been widely believed to be a possible explanation for possession and this study helps me explain and examine why this is believed.

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