Gender and Culture Bias in Schizophrenia

What is gender bias in Schizophrenia?

• The extent to which schizophrenia is a unique syndrome with characteristics

• The level of agreement (consistency) on the diagnosis of schizophrenia by different psychiatrists

• Having two or more disorders at the same time.

• When the accuracy of diagnosis is dependent on the gender of the individual.

Who reviewed studies of the prevalence of schizophrenia and concluded that since the 1980s, men have been diagnosed with schizophrenia more often than women?

• Loring and Powell

• Longnecker et al

• Serper et al

• Buckley et al.

Which gender is more likely to be undiagnosed in Schizophrenia?

• Males

• Females

Why are women more likely to be undiagnosed?

• Their symptoms are masked by good interpersonal functioning

• Their symptoms are masked by other disorders

• Women are less likely to seek help

What is Culture bias in Schizophrenia?

• The extent that two or more conditions occur together

• There is considerable overlap between the symptoms of schizophrenia and other conditions

• when patients can display the same symptoms and receive the same diagnoses regardless of their ethnic background

• when patients can display the same symptoms but receive different diagnoses because of their ethnic background

Define 'imposed etic'

• Evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.

• Culture-specific idea is wrongly imposed on another culture.

• Looking upon another culture as inferior or worse than your own culture.

• When a study only has males or only has females as participants.

Which researcher suggests that culture plays a part in the diagnosis of Schizophrenia, and therefore questions the validity of diagnosis?

• Escobar

• Loring and Powell

• Buckley

• Serper

Answer explanation

Escobar has pointed out that White psychiatrists may tend to over-interpret the symptoms of Black people during diagnosis. Such factors as cultural differences in language and mannerisms, difficulties in relating between black patients and white therapists, and the myth that black people rarely suffer from affective disorders may be causing this problem. Therefore, clinicians and researchers must pay more attention to the effects of cultural differences on diagnosis. 

Which researcher suggests culture plays a part in the diagnosis of Schizophrenia and therefore questions the validity of diagnosis?

• Buckley

• Loring and Powell

• Copeland

• Escobar

Answer explanation

Copeland et al (1971) gave a description of a patient of ethnic minority to 134 US and 194 British psychiatrists. 69% of the US psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia but only 2% of the British gave the diagnosis of schizophrenia. No research has found any cause for this, so it suggests that the symptoms of ethnic minorities are misinterpreted.