Key Q: How Do Different Societies Define Mental Health Disorders?

Diagnostic manuals are used over the world in order to define and categorise different disorders. For example, the DSM is now in its fifth edition, and the ICD is in its tenth. They are used to diagnose disorders through the use of lists of symptoms for each disorder.
1. The DSM is an American system, but is used in other cultures with clearly defined categories, symptoms and features of disorders.
  1. Lee (2006): found the DSM was valid for ADHD in a non-western culture. However, these results are not generalisable to other disorders as he only tested ADHD and not disorders such as schizophrenia.
Societies hold their own beliefs which makes defining mental health disorders different for different societies. There are differing beliefs, attitudes and courses and outcomes for disorders.
1. For example, in the USA, hearing voices is seen as unusual behaviour. However, in other non-western societies, hearing voices is an "exceptional" and religious experience.
  1. Jablensky found that in western societies, schizophrenia is largely characterised by depression, thought insertions. However, in non-western societies, schizophrenia was characterised more by auditory and visual delusions. This supports the idea that disorders vary in different societies and therefore may be defined differently.
Culture bound syndromes exist in different societies. These are disorders which only appear in certain societies and nowhere else, making it difficult to universally define mental health as certain societies may not be familiar with certain disorders, and misdiagnose a disorder as something else (especially in a world where different cultures and now mixing in the same society).
1. An example of a culture bound syndrome is Koro, which was a crippling fear of shrinking organs in Singapore.
  1. Section 3 of the DSM 5 acknowledges the existence of culture bound syndromes such as 'penis panics', which suggests that we are getting closer to a diagnostic tool which can be used universally by different societies to define mental disorders.
The stigmatisation of mental health disorders differs between societies, making how they define mental health disorder differ too. For example, a society where mental health is stigmatised highly will define them differently to a more open society.
1. The stigmatisation of mental illness can halt progression and understanding of mental health disorders and treatment because people do not want to come forward to be diagnosed.
  1. Abdullah and Brown found that in different American-Indian tribes, some tribes stigmatised no disorders, some stigmatised all disorders, and some only stigmatised some disorders. This suggests that different societies stigmatise mental illness differently and therefore the way they define mental health disorders is affected by this,
Having a universal definition for mental health is important for society as it could help increase understanding of mental health, funding and treatment effectiveness.
1. It is vital that clinicians understand different cultures in regard to diagnosis so they their diagnoses are valid, as well as the treatment they select for the individual is the most appropriate.
  1. Chandrasena (check) found that in Sri Lanka, there was less early intervention with drug treatment. This suggests that perhaps the cultural differences between societies is not the problem, but it is in fact an issue with the availability of treatment in different societies which is the biggest issue in defining and treating mental illness.

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Key Q: How Do Different Societies Define Mental Health Disorders?

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	Criado por Katie Greensted mais de 5 anos atrás