A Qualitative Study On The Personification Characteristics And Experience Of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations

Objective:Auditory verbal hallucinations(AVHs)exist in many groups of people with mental disorders and may trigger a range of negative effects.Guided by the interpersonal theory and the posttraumatic growth theory,the study explored the personification characteristics and related experience of voice in patients with AVHs.Methods:The study used purposive sampling to screen interviewees and semi-structured interviews to collect data.Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis(IPA)from qualitative research was applied to understand and analyze the personification characteristics and related experience of voice.Results:A total of 7 patients with AVHs were included in the study,all from a Grade-A tertiary hospital in Shanxi.Depending on the actual situation,one to three interviews were conducted,and the data collected were transcribed and analyzed inductively to produce relevant thematic results.All interviewees’ voices in the study did have personification features,but the level varied,specifically in three dimensions: voice identity,complex personification features,and voice developmental changes.Voice experience triggered complex emotional feelings,accompanied somatic reactions.The interviewees were able to understand the content of the voice,communicated meaningfully with it and gained appropriate social value.The voice experience of interviewees can be broadly divided into four phases,"Ⅰearly events and recent life events" "Ⅱvoice onset stage " "Ⅲvoice regulation stage" and "Ⅳvoice balance stage",with overlapping and recurrent situations in each stage,and even when reaching the balance stage may still trigger a cycle under new stress.Conclusion:The voice personification characteristics of AVHs patients are significant,but the level varies.Voice experience of AVHs patients is diverse and vivid.The voice content is unique and relevant to their own situations.Voice is communicative and can provide social values during their interaction.The voice experience shows stages,but there are repetitions and new cycles due to the influence of individual differences on the voice development process.The personification characteristics of the voice are significantly perceived by AVHs patients,triggering a series of voice experiences.The process is fraught with struggle,pain and trauma,and AVHs patients gain growth and positive meaning through continuous adaptation.