Neurosis Across Cultures

Abstract

The influence of culture on neurotic disorders and their epidemiology, incidence, clinical pattern and even their response to psychotropic drugs have been studied only sparingly. However, most of the cross-cultural differences in the incidence of mental illness pertain to the area of neurosis. But, after accounting for the various confounding variables, no true major difference in the prevalence of neurosis can be confirmed. There are apparently no ‘true' culturally unique neurotic disorders, though distribution of some neurotic disorders varies across cultures. There are also some differences in the psychopathology of neurosis between different cultures. Cultural factors seem to influence the presentation of depressive neurosis, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders. Hysteria seems to be becoming less prevalent all over the world, though at a slower rate in some cultures. Anxiety, phobia and neuresthenia have unique presentation in some of the cultural backgrounds, usually orientals. Cultural factors appear to have some pathoplastic effect on neurotic disorders since the relative distribution of depression, conversion reaction, anxiety, somatoform disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder has some differences from one culture to another. The role of cultural factors in the distribution, presentation, and management of neurosis have been discussed in this chapter.