Cultural Relativist Approach Essay

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This is a difficult question to answer because there is not a right answer. The research of abnormal behavior supports both the universal and the cultural relativist approach. Firstly, the research shows that the studied mental illnesses are seen in all the cultures that were looked at. Depression, ADHD and Schizophrenia are all seen in different cultures. The World Health Organization conducted several studies, in 1973, 1979, and in 1981, and these studies showed that schizophrenia is seen across 9 countries of varying levels of social and economic standings. Depression is one of the most studied illnesses and WHO, as well as many others, have done studies that show depression is seen around the world. ADHD is a newer illness but it too has been shown to be seen across cultures. Research done by Polanczyk and others in 2007 shows that across the world, boys are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls. This shows that these, and other illnesses, are not bound to one culture or location. This strengthens the support for universal abnormal behavior. …show more content…

WHO did show that schizophrenia was seen around the world, but the duration of symptoms and the specific symptoms does change. Countries that are more developed have citizens who struggle with more symptoms and longer duration's than citizens in underdeveloped countries. This seems to show some form of cultural dependency. There have also been many studies that have shown that different countries express depressive tendencies in different ways and that treatment approaches differ as well. WHO also showed that the prevalence of depression varied greatly among cultures. While illnesses are cross-culturally relevant, the symptoms and duration do vary depending on cultures. This seems to show that while the source of abnormal behavior is universal, the actual abnormal behaviors that arise are culturally

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