J Clin Psychol. 1994 May; 50(3): 458-69.

The attitudes, behaviors and beliefs of patients of conventional vs. complementary (alternative) medicine.

Furnham A, Forey J.

Department of Psychology, University College London.

Subjects were two groups of patients, one whose members were visiting a GP and the other whose members were seeing a variety of Alternative Practitioners (AP), who were not significantly different in terms of sex, age, level of education, marital status, occupational status, political views, newspaper readership, ethnic grouping, religion, and income. The major difference between the two groups were the fact that the AP group were more critical and skeptical about the efficacy of modern medicine; they believed their health could be improved; they stayed loyal to their chosen practitioner; they had tried more alternative therapies and have more self- and ecologically aware lifestyles; and they believed that treatment should concentrate on the whole person and greater knowledge of the physiology of the body.