Culture & Mental Health Flashcards
Cultural relativism
the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture.
Disorders can be understood only in…
the cultural framework w/in which they occur
Psychopathology
the scientific study of mental illness or disorders.
Psychological disorders that encompass behavioural, cognitive, and emotional aspects of functioning.
Define abnormal 3 ways
Using a statisical approach
- but not all rare behaviour is a mental disorder and vice versa.
Applying criteria of impairment/inefficiency, deviance, or subjective distress.
- Can be problematic; ADHD (child might not do well in private school but well in a public school, the individual doesn’t need to be changed but the context instead.)
Alternative approach - applying cultural relativism to abnormality.
- Limited – culture always change e.g. homosexuality being seen as a mental illness.
Cross-Cultural issues arise concerning… of psychological disorders
Reliability & validity of diagnoses
Diagnostic categories used
Classifications systems used for diagnosis:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
- Currently 300 disorders (2013, 5th edition).
- Very narrowed focused in terms of culture - but this has been worked on.
International classification of Diseases (ICD)
Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (CCMD)
- Has culturally specific features.
- E.g. Pathological gambling is in DSM and not CCMD.
Cultural syndrome of distress
Patterns of symptoms that tend to cluster together for individuals in specific cultural groups, communities/contexts
Cultural idioms of distress
Ways that community and cultural groups communicate and express their distressing thoughts, behaviours and emotions
Cultural explanations of distress
What community and cultural groups believe is the cause of the distress, symptoms/illness
Tools used for CC assessment of Psychological disorders
Questionnaires, interview protocols, or standardised tasks requiring behavioural response.
Should reliably and validly
Schizophrenia
delusions and hallucinations, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, impaired memory, and dysregulated emotions.
CC research on schizophernia
World Health Organisation (WHO): sponsored International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia (IPSS)
- Universal symptoms: lack of insight; auditory and verbal hallucinations’ ideas of reference.
- Differences: course of illness more positive for patients in developing countries.
- Symptom manifestation also varies between countries.
Depression
a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest
physical, motivational, and emotional/behavioural changes.
CC research on depresison
Universally, women are more likely to experience depression than men.
1 in 5 women, 1 in 8 men.
Found in most countries.
WHO study of depression:
CC symptoms: “sadness, joylessness, anxiety, tension, lack of energy, loss of interest, loss of ability to concentrate, and ideas of insufficiency”.
Evidence for culturally specific symptoms due to variations in stress sources, coping mechanisms and mind/body relationship.
Cultural syndromes
Patterns of symptoms that cluster together for individuals in specific cultural groups, communities, or contexts.
Differential rates and courses of disorders across cultures suggest importance of culture in shaping expression of psychological disorders.
Examples of culture-bound syndromes
Amok - a period of social withdrawal and apathy, before making a violent, unprovoked attack on nearby individuals
Xar
Whakama
Susto
Latah
Koro
Mental Health of Ethnic Minorities USA: African Americans
Historical context of slavery and exclusion from the social, economic, and education font have influenced their mental health.
Report lower lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of major depression and panic disorder.
- Protective factors against mental illness
- Strong family, community, and religious networks.
Groups differ based on whether they are born to African AMerican parents or Caribbean Blacks.
Mental Health of Ethnic Minorities USA: Latino Americans
National Latino and Asian American study
- Shows variations in rates of mental illness among different Latino groups.
Factors that influence mental health
- Reception and history of immigration
- Varying SES and experiences with discrimination
- Strength of ethnic community
Mental Health of Ethnic Minorities USA: Asian Americans
Model minority stereotype masks the fact that Asian Americans could be at risk for poor mental health.
Asian American population is heterogeneous in terms of culture, language, and history of immigration.
- Report lowest 12-month prevalences of disorders.
- Gender and immigration-related factors help in understanding mental health disorders.
Mental Health of Ethnic Minorities USA: Native Americans
Higher prevalence of depression, other mood and anxiety disorders, and ratse of alcohol and suicide.
Psychological disorders could be due to:
Historical trauma
Community-wide poverty
Segregation and marginalisation
Preserving and promoting traditional culture helps in reducing severe psychological distress.
Mental Health of Immigrants
Immigrants adapting to a new cultural environment are faced with acculturation issues.
May cause depression, anxiety and psychosomatic problems.
Immigrant paradox challenges the notion that immigration is stressful leading to poor adaptation.
An individual’s level of acculturation contributes to the content and expression of his/her distress.
Mental Health of Refugees
Show higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety.
- Caused by the traumatic experiences marked by profound losses and upheavals.
- Dose effect – greater severity of trauma is associated w/a higher likelihood of experiencing psychological disorder.
- Postmigration factors are equally important in predicting a refugee’s emotional distress as pre-migration experiences.
