Transcultural psychiatry

Definition of transcultural psychiatry

• Considered a part of social psychiatry
• It studies the influence of culture and social situations on the psychopathological symptomatology
• includes the so-called culture specific disorders
• includes also psychiatric problems of immigrants and foreign workers

Culture specific disorders- Examples

• Mental disorders appearing in a geographical region (e.g. Malaysia, southeast asia...) that only appear there and are believed to occur due to cultural influence
• The ICD-10 classifies them as "culture specific disorders"

Koro

• the fear that your penis/vulva is shrinking and going into your abdomen and that you can die of it. ICD-10: F48.8"other neurotic syndromes"
• in southeast asian countries, India, China

Dhat syndrome

• described in India
• an intensive fear of a loss of semen via masturbation, excess sexual intercourse , urinary disorders (a whitish urinary discharge interpreted asloss of semen), etc. Complaints about fatigue, loss of appetite, feelings of guilt.

Amok

• ICD-10 recommends in contrast to the DSM-lV to classify it under F68.8 (personality and behavioral disorders)
• „A willing, seemingly unprovoked episode of murderous and destructive behavior that is followed with amnesia or fatigue. Many of these episodes end in suicide" (Appendix ll, ICD-10)

Other transcultural topics

Gastarbeitersyndrome

• depressive syndromes in workers coming from abroad

International pilot study of the WHO on schizophrenia

• was done in the 1960-70s

• the prevalence of schizophrenia was stable across cultures
• the types of symptoms people from different cultures had varied → in western countries they showed more depressive and anxiety symptoms (more isolation? stigma of schizophrenia?), thought insertion and thought broadcasting, while in non-western countries visual hallucinations were more frequent

Mental illnesses in minorities living in western countries

• background: the prevalence of schizophrenia was the same in caribbean countries in comparison to the UK, yet african caribbean people experience schizophrenia at a higher degree if they live in the UK (immigrants) than their counterparts at home
• Why? → higher rate of socioeconomic disadvantage, racism?,stress?..