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Anthropology and psychiatric epidemiology
Author(s) -
Murphy Jane M.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1994.tb05913.x
Subject(s) - ethnography , injustice , context (archaeology) , epidemiology , psychiatric epidemiology , psychiatry , cross cultural studies , psychology , mental illness , sociology , anthropology , medicine , social psychology , mental health , history , archaeology
Psychiatric epidemiologic research has been criticized by anthropologists for ignoring cultural variation in the definitions of psychiatric disorders. While recognizing the importance of this issue, it is suggested here that a considerable amount of ethnographic evidence indicates that many types of comparative effort can be carried out without cultural injustice. It is also urged that anthropologists provide a system for classifying cultures so as to foster an understanding of the ways in which shared beliefs and meanings can influence psychiatric illness. Categorizing populations as Western versus Non‐Western or Developed versus Developing is inadequate as a basis for studying the cultural context of psychiatric illness in different parts of the world.