SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS
SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS
SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS
Sociocultural factors influence the development, pre- sentation, classification, and assessment of psycho- logical disorders. Emotional and behavioral disorders are closely tied to the social world. While there are universal commonalities in mental disorders, psy- chopathology is embedded in socioculturally based systems of meaning and values. Social and cultural variations are found in the formation, expression, labeling, and treatment of symptom experiences.
Sociocultural Influences as Determinants of Mental Health Disparities In any society, mental health disparities have been well documented across class, race/ethnicity, gen- der, and sexual orientation, among many other sociocultural determinants in prevalence and clini- cal diagnosis (Garb, 1997). Across epidemiological
studies conducted in the United States and in the United Kingdom, less privileged social position was found to be associated with higher prevalence of common mental disorders among women and men, with unemployment, less education, and lower income having stronger association than occupational status with common mental disor- ders (Fryers, Melzer, & Jenkins, 2003). Such social gradient was also found across both genders on depression, psychological well-being, self-reported health, and smoking, with employment grade and years of education showing a stronger relationship than most recent occupational status (Marmot, Ryff, Bumpass, Shipley, & Marks, 1997). As to sexual orientation, based on the National Survey of Midlife Development conducted in the United States, gay and bisexual men were found to have higher preva- lence of depression, panic attacks, and overall psy- chological distress than heterosexual men; lesbian and bisexual women were found to have a higher prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder than heterosexual women (Cochran, Sullivan, & Mays, 2003). A systematic review showed that lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals have higher risk for mental disorder, suicidal ideation, substance misuse, and deliberate self-harm (King et al., 2008). Consider- ing sexual orientation along with ethnicity, find- ings from the National Latino and Asian American Survey showed a higher prevalence of depressive disorders among Latino and Asian American lesbian
