such as Hong Kong [7, 12], Taiwan [13], and Singapore [14].
Chinese mental patients often attribute their problems to
possession, to a charm cast on them, or to having stepped
on a spirit or a “dirty thing” accidentally. Chinese people
also have the folk religious belief of retribution for sin in the
form of a bad spirit that would invade the body and inflict
madness when misdeeds and human transgression, such as
family conflict, occurred [7].
Confucian thought is another traditional belief that
shapes Chinese people’s experience of mental health problems.
Mental illness was regarded as a punishment for violating
the Confucian norms governing interpersonal relations,
especially filial piety [15], and ancestors could become
malevolent spirits to haunt their descendants who had
violated Confucian teachings [7]