Schizophrenia In American Culture Essay

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Schizophrenia: A Diagnosis Across Cultures The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) defines the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia as “a chronic, more or less debilitating illness characterized by perturbations in cognition, affect, and behavior, all of which have a bizarre aspect” (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Schizophrenia is typified of having positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are symptoms that are apparent and consistently present, such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and bizarre or catatonic behavior. Negative symptoms are symptoms that sometimes noticeable but usually mild, and are characterized by a lack or withdrawal of emotion, sometimes resulting in a “flat effect” (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The fact that schizophrenia is defined in the DSM…show more content…
However, through even this small population, it can be seen that American Indian outlook on mental health in general is fairly different from Western culture. American Indian people have a wide range of beliefs about mental health. Physical complaints are often not distinguished from psychological complaints, and emotional distress is displayed in ways not seen to be consistent with standard diagnostic criteria from the DSM (Beals, 2006). It has been found that American Indians experience psychological distress one and a half more times than the general American population, and experience post-traumatic stress disorder twice more than the general population (National Center for Health Statistics). The main mental disorders in American Indian populations deal with substance abuse (Urban Indian Health Commission). American Indians have also been known to seek more help than the general population, but only when the use of traditional healing is involved (Beals,
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