The influence of culture on developmental psychopathology

¶ … Culture on Developmental Psychopathology

The objective of this work is to examine how conceptualization, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of childhood mental health disorders may vary by culture. Specific questions addressed in this research are the following: (1) How do psychologists define culture? How does our definition of culture guide us in our understanding of mental health problems? (2) What are critical components of our cultural experience that are important in how we assess and diagnose behavioral disorders? Finally this work will suggest ways that psychologists might better incorporate culture into their study and treatment of childhood behavioral disorders.

Impact of Culture: Assessment of Developmental Psychopathology of Children

Culture impacts the view of developmental psychopathology a great deal and that impact is differentiated by various cultural beliefs and customs and this includes religious beliefs and superstitions whether founded or unfounded according to factual evidence or science. The work of Hoagwood and Jensen (1997) states that it is hard to imagine a term that is "more slippery...than culture. One need not venture far into theories of culture to see the way sin which the use of this term has been vast, imprecise, and inconsistent." (Hoagwood and Jensen, 1997) p.108

In fact, it is stated that the complications resulting from the "uses of the term culture have constituted a serious impediment to generating empirical knowledge and aligning cultural psychology with the study of developmental psychopathology." (Hoagwood and Jensen, 1997)

These difficulties are stated to include:

(1) Ideological uses;

(2) Extreme relativism;

(3) Circularity; and (5) Overinclusiveness. (Hoagwood and Jensen, 1997)

B. Cultural Diversity and the Nuances of Behavioral Variation

Socio-linguistic studies examine socialization and its effect on development of identity. Study on language learning is stated to reveal a great deal about the "discursive practices that constitute the meaning of normal or abnormal behavior within defined communities." (Hoagwood and Jensen, 1997) Research has approached and interpreted cultural diversity "as mere ethnic cookie-cutting, newer ways of thinking about culture suggest that those categories do not reflect the range of particularities that cultural studies most wanted to address: the meaningful variations in human social grouping that explain the nuances of behavioral variation." (Hoagwood and Jensen, 1997)

The work of Parron (1997) states that cultural pluralism 'has become a worldwide reality with the population of the United States and most Western nations now including large numbers of person, many of whom are recent immigrants, who trace their origins to non-Western societies." (Parron, 1997) the entire world's cultures have made an attempt to provide an explanation for illness and behavioral or developmental anomalies." (Parron, 1997) Stated as the view that underlies the DSM-IV assessment system is that "psychiatric disorders are universal and antheoretical and hence 'culture free' categories." (Parron, 1997)

III. Latino-Specific Study Reported

The work of Weiss, Goebel, Page, Wilson and Warda (1998) reports a study that "...examined the impact of financial, cultural, and family variables on the incidence of behavioral and emotional problems in a group of two- and three-year-old Latino children. Findings in this study stated that in terms of the children as a group "the mean score for total behavioral problems falls within the normal range, and well below the range suggestive of clinical concern." (Weiss, Goebel, Page, Wilson and Warda, 1998)

However, it is stated that 7% of the children in the study "had scores indicating risk for mental health problems and 14$ showed enough symptoms to warrant substantial clinical concern." (Weiss, Goebel, Page, Wilson and Warda, 1998) it is reported that the study was focused on the determination of the degree to which behavioral and emotional problems may be related to the family's financial status, cultural heritage, degree of acculturation, and family functioning." (Weiss, Goebel, Page, Wilson and Warda, 1998)

Results stated in the work of Weiss, Goebel, Page, Wilson and Warda (1998) are stated to suggest that "...as a group, Latino preschoolers are quite well adjusted, experiencing a range of emotional and behavioral problems typical for their age group. However, a small proportion of the sample demonstrated behaviors indicative of substantial mental health problems. Boys seem more likely to warrant clinical concern as a result of both their externalizing and internalizing problems." (Weiss, Goebel, Page, Wilson and Warda, 1998)

IV. DSM-IV Cultural Formulation Guidelines

Parron states that the components of the DSM-IV Cultural Formulation Guidelines are:

(1) cultural identity of the individual;

(2) cultural explanations of the individual's illness;

(3) Cultural factors related to psychosocial environment and functioning;

(4) Cultural elements of the relationship between the individual and the clinician; and (5) Overall cultural assessment for diagnosis and care. (Parron, 1997)

Analysis