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Culture-Specific Diagnoses

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Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health

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Introduction and History

Culture-specific diagnoses, also referred to as culture-bound syndromes, ethnic psychoses, and atypical culture-bound reactive syndromes, have been studied since the early eighteenth century. Culture-specific diagnoses encompass a diverse group of illnesses whose syndrome constellations are unique to certain cultural groups. While general medical conditions which localize to certain geographic regions or genetic groups have been historically included with the culture-specific diagnoses, the term is now primarily used to refer to mental health conditions. Culture-specific diagnoses are distinct from idioms of distress. Idioms of distress are a culturally unique presentation of coping with and expressing negative experiences and emotions (Kirmayer & Young, 1998). Idioms of distress are most commonly manifested as somatization with the body system and form of physical manifestation of the emotional distress varying by culture. Knowledge of both culture-specific...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Timothy B Moritz Forensic Unit, Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, Columbus, OH, USA

    Delaney Smith

  2. Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, Columbus, OH, USA

    Tara Mayes

  3. Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Riley Smith

Authors
  1. Delaney Smith
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  2. Tara Mayes
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  3. Riley Smith
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Sana Loue

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Martha Sajatovic

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Smith, D., Mayes, T., Smith, R. (2012). Culture-Specific Diagnoses. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_4

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