One’s culture and society has a large influence upon development and growth. Cultural and social expectations can sometimes cause an overwhelming amount of stress to an individual and result in mental disorders. An example of such would be the prevalence in anorexia and other eating disorders in Western society due to a warped sense of body image. Likewise, Asian countries have seen a rise in youth who are socially withdrawing for extended periods of time. In Japan, such a term is called “hikikomori.” It is a quickly developing syndrome in which adolescents “lock themselves away in their rooms for months, years, or even sometimes decades at a time, with minimal social contact” (Rosenthal and Zimmerman 82). Though these two conditions are more commonly conceived in their Some experts have estimated that there may be as few as one million hikikomori within Japan’s population (Furlong 309). The most common behaviours that can be attributed to this condition are dropping out of school, developing a dependence on the virtual world or alternate reality, and confining themselves within their homes. However, the assumption that they never leave their homes is mistaken. Some leave their homes on a daily basis, but will usually leave at a time that allows them to avoid social contact, such as early in the morning or late at night (Furlong 311). While these core behavioural features have been identified, the major issue as to why psychiatrists are unable to distinctly define hikikomori is due to the vast number of behaviours being categorized under the same term (Rosenthal and Zimmerman 83). For instance, social isolation, the main component of hikikomori, may include diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, personality disorders, or even “psychotic illness” (Teo and Gaw
The Mega-Marketing Depression of Japan, he focuses on how Japan and other cultures define depression, but also displays how the influence of American treatments in eastern countries eventually becomes the international standard. Even though the western culture is homogenizing the way other cultures diagnose mental illnesses such as depression, the diagnosis of mental illness in eastern cultures still heavily relies on language and behavior that is deemed socially acceptable in those parts of the world but is uncommon in American society. According to Kirmayer, “.every culture has a type of experience that is in some ways parallel to the Western conception of depression.” (Watters 517).
The dominant biomedical model of health does not take into consideration lay perspectives (SITE BOOK). Lay perspectives go into detail about ordinary people’s common sense and personal experiences. A cultural perspective, like the Hmong cultures perspective on health, is considered a lay perspective. Unlike the Hmong culture, where illness is viewed as the imbalance between the soul and the body, the dominant biomedical model of health views health in terms of pathology and disease (SITE THE BOOK). Although the Hmong culture considers spiritual and environmental factors, the dominant biomedical model of health only looks at health through a biological perspective, and neglects the environment and psychological factors that affect health. Depression in the U.S. is a medical illness caused by neurochemical or hormonal imbalance and certain styles of thinking. Depression is the result of unfortunate experiences that the brain has difficulties processing (SITE 7). Unlike the Hmong culture, where Hmong’s who are diagnosed with depression report the interaction between a spirit, people diagnosed with depression in the Western culture report themselves to having symptoms such as feeling tired, miserable and suicidal (SITE
Measuring depression in different culture is a complicated task, “there is a need for tools for multicultural mental health primary in order to promote communication and improve clinical diagnosis” (Lehti et al, 2009). This results indicated that there is still a need for a tool to accurately measure depression in patients from different countries/cultures. Each culture is unique in its very own, and certain abnormal behavior can only be found in certain culture. For instance, in western society we have the histrionic personality disorder, in which an individual desperately seek out attention, while in Japan, there is a phenomenon called “hikikomori” is an abnormal behavior where a person would go great length to avoid any social contract at any means. This abnormal behavior is similar to the avoidant personality disorder, however hikikomori is more severe. “Hikikomori is used to refer to group of young people who have withdrawn from social life and have had no relationships outside of family for a period in excess of six months.” (Furlong, 2008). The long period of time to be withdrawn from society is quite serious and will have many psychological damage. Another factor that is important when looking at abnormal behavior is the gender. The gender of an individual have play an important role in shaping the diagnosis and the diagnostic feature of these symptoms.
Crazy Like Us is a book written by Ethan Watters. Through this book, Ethan explores the spread of anorexia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. Through case studies, the author explains the causes, and symptoms of Anorexia in Hong Kong, depression in Japan, post-traumatic stress disorder in Sri Lanka, and how Schizophrenia came to Zanzibar. Moreover, he explains how these disorders are prevalent in the Eastern nations due to the American influence. In addition, Ethan Watters outlines the implications of the American influence, and the urgent need to treat these illnesses in a culturally suitable framework. Ethan states that American influence changes a lot the way many nations view these disorders, and the American mental health treatments do not work well live the cultural treatment of many nations.
Hikikomori can be perceived as a manifestation of Japanese democracy, in which the good society is imagined as cohesive, protective and secure, rather than one in which the individual can freely exercise the right to be different. But that is not always so. Schools, families and the sphere of mental health care have focused on producing social inclusion, but have discouraged citizens from being labeled as ‘‘different’’, even when such a distinction could aid them.[5] For example, Japan’s postwar education and health care encouraged relative equality and common social values, as a key to a healthy and productive society. However, society offers limited and constrained substitutes to mainstream social practise. Mental health is often described as a matter of an individual’s attitude (ki no mochiyo ¯), so it is important to keep in good spirits. The over-arching cultural value is attached to being active and participative, and if one fails to do so they are considered “different”. As a result a more diffuse assumption is that mental degeneration, whether in the form of mental illness, senility or even suicide, is, at least in some part, voluntary. [3] This approach to depression does not recognize nor does it emphasize psychological, developmental or even familial issues that were potentially at play in the youth. Instead, the stress is almost exclusively placed on healing through
From this information it is clear that more research should be done on eating disorders in non-Western societies because women in those cultures do, in fact, suffer from poor body image and low self-esteem. Special focus could be placed on binge-eating in cultures where overeating is a natural part of life and overweight women are viewed as attractive. It is in these cultures that women feel torn between their traditions and the Westernized perception of beauty they are experience more.
... J. H., & Manos, M. J. (2004). Abnormal Psychology: Current Perspectives 9th ed. In L. B. Alloy, J. H. Riskind, & M. J. Manos, The Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sociocultural Perspectives (pp. 75-104). New York: McGraw Hill.
Every person that has different characteristics that influence how they think, act, and build relationships. While some people are introverted, others are extroverted. Some people are strict and do not take risks, while others are carefree and free spirited. However, there are times where a person’s behavior becomes destructive, problematic, and maladaptive (Widger, 2003). The key to examining a person for a possible personality disorder is not if they have quirks, but if they display severe behavioral, emotional, and social issues. A diagnosis of having a personality disorders involves identifying if their extreme behaviors, emotions, and thoughts that are different than cultural expectations interfere with the ...
middle of paper ... ... Retrieved June 16, 2002, from http://nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm. National Mental Health Association. 2000 May 15.
Psychology consists of countless different components that help describe various aspects of individuals both mentally and physically. Though Psychology is used for multiple different areas, one of the most common areas to observe in this field is behaviors. Behaviors range from person to person and can be altered by different situations and variables. The point when behaviors can become of interest is when an individual’s actions and behavior are extreme or they are inconsistent with the appropriate behavior in certain circumstances. These abnormal behaviors are often consistent and can be related to psychological disorders. Though some psychological disorders may be manageable to live
Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.
Morishima, James, K. "The Evacuation: Impact on the Family." Asian- Americans Psychological Perspectives. Ed. Stanley Sue, Ph.D., Nathaniel N. Wagner, Ph.D. California: Science and Behavior Books, Inc., 1973. 13- 19.
This assignment is to discuss abnormality in mental health and the medical models used to diagnose mental disorders namely depression and eating disorders, why these models can be unreliable and theories behind what causes these disorders, whether it be environmental (nurture) or hereditary (nature) and how different cultures and societies can have an impact on diagnosing these disorders.
In our culture, money, status, and social power all play a part in how individuals think that others perceive them. There is growing evidence that shows the link between socioeconomic status and unhealthy psychological outcomes in mental health. When looking at higher levels of socioeconomic status for youth it shows a more positive and healthy psychological outcome for youth and their mental health. Studies have shown that there are higher rates of attempted suicide, cigarette smoking and engaging in episodic heavy drinking (“Pardon Our Interruption”). Other studies have shown that lower levels of socioeconomic status have been linked to emotional and behavioral difficulties, like anxiety, depression, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorders (“Pardon Our
A comparison between modern Western countries and Japan emphasizes a large discrepancy in beliefs regarding cultural growth in the separate parts of the world (Leonardson, 2004). According to many scholars and much research done on Japan the culture is the perfect example of what cultural homogeneity means as a whole. The cultural homogeneity affects the Japanese youth in how they grow, develop, affect their communities, and live their future lives in the community; this also plays a role in forcing out crime in the country. It also affects the procedures of the police force when interacting with citizens and planning new procedures that require the help and cooperation of Japanese citizens. The cultural