Chapter 9 Culture and Mental Health

Question 1

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Answer 1

the primary reference manual used in all mental health fields to classify mental disorders. Published by the American Psychiatric Association, this manual is currently in its fifth edition

Question 2

somatization

Answer 2

the expression of mental disorders through physical disorders

Question 3

prevalence

Answer 3

the current rate of a particular disorder at a given point in time

Question 4

incidence

Answer 4

the number of new cases of a disorder diagnosed in a given period of time

Question 5

lifetime incidence

Answer 5

the number of cases of a disorder that occurs during one’s lifetime

Question 6

cultural concepts of distress

Answer 6

ways that cultural groups experience, understand, and communicate suffering, behavioral problems, or troubling thoughts and emotions

Question 7

three types of cultural concepts of distress are

Answer 7

1. cultural syndromes
2. cultural idioms of distress
3. cultural explanations of distress or perceived causes

Question 8

cultural syndromes

Answer 8

mental disorders, distinguished by unique clusters of symptoms, that only occurs in specific cultures

Question 9

cultural idioms of distress

Answer 9

unique ways that specific cultural groups express psychological distress. These expressions may not involve specific symptoms or disorders, but reflect a shared way of experiencing or talking about personal or social concerns

Question 10

cultural explanations of distress or perceived causes

Answer 10

the ways in which different cultural groups explain psychological symptoms or distress, or attach various meanings to various symptoms

Question 11

anorexia nervosa

Answer 11

an eating disorder marked by such a severe restriction of one’s diet that the sufferer’s weight falls far below what would be expected, given his or her height and age

Question 12

bulimia nervosa

Answer 12

an eating disorder marked by the consumption of a large amount of food in one sitting - called a binge - followed by the purging of that food, most typically through vomiting but also through extreme exercise or the use of laxatives

Question 13

binge-eating disorder

Answer 13

an eating disorder marked by consumption of large amounts of food in one sitting, accompanied by feelings of lack of control, embarrassment, disgust, depression, and guilt, along with rapid eating, eating until uncomfortably full, and eating large amounts when not hungry

Question 14

three major barriers to effective multicultural counseling and therapy

Answer 14

a) culture-bound values
b) class-bound values
c) language variables

Question 15

cultural-bound values

Answer 15

core beliefs of one culture that relate principally to that culture and may be inappropriate for another culture

Question 16

class-bound values

Answer 16

core beliefs of one socioeconomic class that relate principally to that class and may be inappropriate for another level of socioeconomic status

Question 17

language variables

Answer 17

differences in language (e.g, an English-speaking therapist a Spanish-speaking client who may have some limited facility with English) or language usage (e.g., Ebonics or Black English)

Question 18

multicultural competence

Answer 18

the ability to work and be effective with individuals who are of a different culture from yours