Social deprivation, shame, and the voice-hearing relationship Version2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The role of shame in the relationship between social deprivation and the quality of the voice-hearing relationship
IRAS ID
200480
Contact name
Peter Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool Joint Research Office
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
The research is an on-line questionnaire-based study that aims to identify relationships between social deprivation, shame and individuals' relationships with the voices that they hear (auditory hallucinations). Social deprivation can be defined as lacking the material resources (e.g. clothing, food, household facilities) and social resources (e.g. access to health care, education) that a person may expect to have access to within the society that they live in. The term 'hearing voices' is sometimes referred to as 'auditory hallucinations' and can be described as a perceptual experience that occurs (e.g. hearing a voice) when there is no stimulus (i.e. there is no person there). Individuals may hear voices and/or they may hear other sounds. In the current research we will be recruiting individuals aged 18+ who have specifically heard a voice or voices for at least one month. Research has suggested that individuals can develop different types of relationships with the voices that they hear, and also have different beliefs about their voices. We propose that there may be relationships between living in a socially deprived area, experiences of shame, and negative relationships with voices. We also propose that those in non-deprived areas will experience less shame and more positive relationships with their voices. Participants will be invited to complete an on-line questionnaire regarding the attitudes or beliefs they have about their voices, and also about any current experiences of shame that they may have experienced. Participants will be asked to provide their postcode so that we can check their living area against the Index of Multiple Deprivation census data, which categorises areas according to the amount of resources available. We hope that this research will contribute to understanding, targeting of specific psychological therapies, and informing of social policy (around the importance of an equal society) for those who hear voices.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0111
Date of REC Opinion
29 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion