Culture Specific Psychological Disorders

TL;DR at bottom. Most premiere psychologists throughout history have either been European or American, but as much as that benefits the majority of the visitors to this website, it means that many of our preconceptions about mental illness do not apply to different geographical areas, such as Africa and Asia. What got me interested in this was talking to a Chinese expatriate (who just graduated with a Doctorate in all sorts of physics stuff at Cornell University). He said that Schizophrenic people are viewed completely differently in China than in the Western World. He told me of how in the rural areas you would literally find village idiots, mentally impaired or damaged individuals, who were never taken seriously and treated as children. Such as how near where he lived when he was a child there was a man who would squat beside the road and scream obscenities at anyone who went passed, but everyone would just smile and say hello to him. This was very interesting to me, and I have decided to put together a short article detailing culturally-specific (or culture-bound) disorders. From here on out, I am quoting this article [url]http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/wolfgang.html[/url] unless otherwise specified. [important for 2 and 4] [quote]The impact of rapid Westernization transforms small tradition-directed communalist societies, consolidated over many centuries, within a very short time into modern mass societies [WEBER 1972] This process of rapid socio-cultural change creates an anonymous impersonalization of social relationships which generates anomie, the loss of guiding norms of behaviour [DURKHEIN 1897] It also leads to a conflict between modern Western notions and traditional nonWestern values which in turn creates cultural confusion and a widening gap between the models of an affluent Western life style as propagated by the media, and the often bleak socio-economic reality, thus causing feelings of relative deprivation. Anomie, together with cultural identity confusion and relative deprivation, are the principal pathogenic factors operating in the development of the psychosocial syndrome which I have described as anomie depression among indigenous populations of North America[/quote] [b].1[/b] Koro and suo-yang: Anxiety that one’s genitals are shrinking, this is culture-bound to Asian countries, most specifically China, in India the fear of becoming impotent is called jiryan. These cultural anxieties fuel the black market trade of exotic “medicines.” It’s easy to laugh at, but it’s a genuine anxiety disorder. [b].2[/b] Dissociative responses to stress [escaping stress via potentially harmful mental withdrawal], it seems to be identified culturally in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Laos. The technical term is Learnt Dissociation, it can result in delusions, depression, lack of feeling, pretty much anything and everything bad. Usually it is a healthy response when under extreme stress, but if the person cannot reach a relaxed state, the aforementioned issues may arise. It is tied with "Amok," sudden violence. [b].3 [/b] [quote]Syndromes related to a cultural emphasis on presenting a pleasing physical appearance: The anthropophobic reactions among Japanese, called taijin-kyOfu, and among Koreans [KIRMAYER 1991; KIMURA 1995; LEE SHIN & OH 1994] derive from the allocentric fear that one's external appearance is offending to others, and are therefore different from Western social phobia, the egocentric avoidance of social contacts in order to avoid unpleasant feelings for oneself.[/quote] This is a huge problem in Japan, where people will pay money to go to “Hooter’s” style restaurants to talk to members of the opposite sex, simply because they fear rejection from actual social attempts. [b].4[/b] Syndromes of Acultural Stress, basically culture shock from rapid change, for example the Native American societies in the US are gripped by this, subdued intellect, mild delusions/inability to concentrate, anxiety, and depression. It has also been seen in African Nations undergoing rapid modernization. This one I am slightly skeptical of being a result of their culture so much as the result of their culture being destroyed, but I think it’s worth including. [b].5[/b] Anorexia Nervosa, this is found in both Europe and North American countries, though among the Hispanic population of America it is not as likely. I don’t need to explain this one too much, as odds are most of us actually know, or know of someone who has had an eating disorder. I’ve had siblings and friends dance the fine line between fitness and Anorexia, though fortunately never cross that line. The media is largely blamed for this disorder, as it has only been documented as a large-scale disease since the early 19th century. Further reading, in easy-to-read form: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture-bound_syndrome#DSM-IV_list[/url] TL;DR: Non-Western cultures have their own manifestations of major psychological disorders, and some Western Disorders are actually specific to the West. Also, Charlemagne made an excellent point: [quote]One thing I just remembered: Most psychological disorders are really just social constructs, or at least more so than mental disabilities. It's just society's way of categorising the normal and the different. I think that plays a part into this thread.[/quote]