167PSYCHOLOGY 341 (L01)CULTURE AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGYWelcome to a very exciting course. In this course we will travel around the world to explore the description, prevalence and treatment of mental illness in different cultures. We will also be exploring culture-specific (unique to the culture) psychological syndromes.COURSE OUTLINEInstructor:Dr Assen AlladinPhone:670-1340Office:Department of Psychology, Foothills Hospital1403-29 Street N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 2T9Telephone: (403) 670-1340Fax: (403) 670-2060E-mail: dralladinhome.comWeb Page: www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Gym/7210/Hours:By appointmentText:Al-Issa, I. (1995). Handbook of culture and mental illness. Madison: InternationalUniversities Press.LECTURE DAYS/TIME/PLACE: Refer to Course OutlineCOURSE CONTENTS: Refer to Course OutlineASSIGNMENTS/EXAMS: Refer to Course OutlineChapter 1CULTURE AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVEInstructor: Dr Assen AlladinLecture Outline1.Definition of culture2.Historical developments of the study of culture and psychopathology3.Politics of psychiatric diagnosis4.Politics of deinstitutionalization5.Psychopathology among different nations(a)acute reactive psychosis(b)schizophreniadepression and suicide(d)somatization disorder(e)alcoholism(f)mental health among immigrants and ethnicminorities6.Culture-Specific Syndromes7.Cultural epidemiology8.Conclusions1.Definitions of Culture1.(i)Definitions of culture Definition consists of subjective and objective characteristics of human-made environment.Subjective environment:- beliefs- values- norms- mythsObjective characteristics:- physical environment- roads- bridges- buildingsCulture is the way of life of a particular society or group ofpeople, including patterns of thought, beliefs, behavior, customs, traditions, rituals, dress, and language, as well as art, music, and literature. (Websters New World Encyclopedia, 1992)Shared patterns of belief, feeling and adaptation which people carry in their minds. (Leighton & Hughes, 1961)Culture is an organized group of ideas, habits andconditioned responding shared by members of a society. (Linton, 1956)A blueprint for living. (Kluckholm, 1944)1.(ii)Culture and RaceCulture often confused with race.Race is a socially constructed category, which specifies identification of group members.Application of race in a social context is called racism.Ethnic groups are individuals with a sense of belongingness and are thought by themselves and/or by others to share a common origin as well as an important segment of a common culture.The bond that brings members of an ethnic group together may be defined in terms of physical appearance (race) and/or social similarity (culture).In psychiatry culture is equated with nation.1.(iii)Cultural PsychiatryCultural psychiatry is a branch of social psychiatry which “concerns itself with cultural aspects of the etiology, frequency and nature of mental illness and the care and aftercare of the mentally ill within the confines of a given cultural unit.”Wittkower, 1965Since psychiatry itself is a part of Western culture, the transcultural perspective starts from the Western cultural base.Cross-cultural studies too make assumptions derived from a particular cultural base - usually the Western. Hence, the term cultural and transcultural are usually used synonymously.2.Historical Developments in the Study of CulturalPsychopathology(a)Emil kraeplin (1856-1926), German Psychiatrist, well-known for the classification of mental disordersEarly 1900s observed incidence and symptomatology ofWestern mental disorders (e.g., depression, schizophrenia) in Southeast AsiaFound their existence but different incidence andsymptoms(b)Also observed culture-specific syndromes such as amok(senseless killings) and latah (fright neurosis)Concluded they are similar to hysteria, catatonicepisodes, epileptic twilight, etc.Also found different morbidity in Germany, France,Italy and EnglandConcluded that Western disease entities are universal(biological orientation)(d)Sparked research in area of culture and mental illnessbut undermined cultural uniqueness(e)Questions asked:(1)Are concepts of mental illness and the Western system of psychiatric diagnosis universal and applicable to other cultures?(2)Are the incidence and symptoms of mentalillness the same across cultures?(3)If culture-specific syndromes do exist, arethey the same types of syndromes familiar toWestern Psychiatrists, but merely ex