Thinking magically or thinking scientifically: Cognitive and belief predictors of complementary and alternative medicine use in women with and without cancer diagnosis

Abstract

Background Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is popular among the general population and patients with various diseases, but our understanding of the predictors of CAM use for the population of women with or without cancer diagnosis is still quite limited. This paper examines predictors of attitudes toward and use of CAM, including cognitive factors (scientific reasoning, health literacy, locus of control), beliefs (holistic and magical health beliefs pseudoscientific beliefs, and trust in doctors), sociodemographic factors, and cancer diagnosis. Methods The sample consisted of 177 women (103, 58.2% without cancer, 74, 41.8% with cancer diagnosis; Mage = 38.81, SD = 11.43). Results Pseudoscientific/magical beliefs and external locus of control were the strongest predictors of positive attitudes toward CAM and its higher use, as well as preference for CAM instead of conventional treatment. Cancer diagnosis predicted only higher CAM use, but not more positive attitudes to CAM, nor preference for CAM instead of conventional medicine. There was no difference between women with and without cancer diagnosis in using CAM after we controlled for age and education. Women in our sample had a similar level of magical beliefs, holistic health beliefs, and attitudes toward CAM regardless of their cancer diagnosis. However, women with cancer had significantly more pseudoscientific beliefs than women without cancer and a higher external locus of control over their health. Conclusion Women who have an inclination toward holistic and magical beliefs about health tend to favor CAM treatments independently of the cancer diagnosis, although the diagnosis of cancer also contributes to their higher use of CAM. In other words, it seems improbable that women would turn toward CAM treatment only after being diagnosed with cancer.

Communication of Tradition(s): Narrative Templates of Magical Healing in Urban Shamanism

“…The early studies explored culturally situated practices from the comparative perspective; in this, they considered their magical components within local contexts, with the explicit or implicit assumption of their inferiority to Western medicine (e.g., Evans-Pritchard, 1976[1937; Rivers, 1924). However, contemporary research has demonstrated that in a globalised world, healing practices coming from different cultural traditions can be combined and transformed into highly syncretic forms; in this, magic becomes part of holistic worldviews linked to spiritual development; and scientific terms are often employed to legitimise magical healing (e.g., Čavojová et al, 2021;Keshet, 2009Keshet, , 2011Koch, 2015;Stevens, 2001). The process of blending traditions is complex and depends on concrete cultural milieus, in which local beliefs and practices can inform new healing systems (e.g., Jerotijević, Hagovská, 2020;Lindquist, 2001Lindquist, , 2005.…”