Culture Bound Syndrome

Cultural-Bound Syndrome Yasenta Newman Immaculata University July 31, 2012 Dr. Sudol-Regan PSY 608 The term culture-bound syndrome was included in the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The term cultural-bound syndrome is said to be recurrent with specific patterns of abnormal behavior that can be linked to a particular DSM-IV-TR diagnostic category. Many of these patterns is said to be considered illnesses. The particular symptoms, development, and social responses are influenced by limited cultural factors. It is also limited to specific cultures.

The knowledge about the culture-bound syndromes could help address the relationships between the syndromes and the disorders in DSM-IV. Researchers call this the comorbidity question on the assumption that studying the culture-bound syndrome’s patterned relationship to psychiatric diagnoses is a more productive approach than attempting to include it prematurely into the DSM diagnostic categories. Systematic research has identified strong correlations between culture-bound syndromes and criteria for a psychiatric disorder. But, there is rarely a one-to-one relationship between a culture-bound syndrome and a psychiatric disorder.

The culture-bound syndromes is said to coexist with a range of psychiatric disorders and the comorbidity question brings culture-bound syndrome research in with current approaches in the psychiatric research. The differences in the symptomatic, emotional, and contextual aspects of cultural syndromes are said to signal different relationships with psychiatric diagnoses. The extra addition of culture-bound syndromes in DSM-IV provides the opportunity for improving the need to study this syndrome and the chance for developing a research to study it.

The growing ethnic and cultural diversity of the U. S. population presents a challenge to the mental health field to develop truly cross-cultural approaches to mental health research and services. This addition can give researchers the chance to study the relationship between culture-bound syndromes and psychiatric diagnoses. In my opinion, a research program based on key questions goes one-sided. By understanding the culture-bound syndromes within the cultural context can help analyze the relationship between these syndromes and the psychiatric disorders.