Cultural Influence on Developmental Psychopathology Essay

Psychological definition of Culture

Culture can broadly be used to refer to a combination of shared practices, beliefs, values, and attitudes, or as a product of the social setting or institution from which we hail from. Psychologists have however found this definition ambiguous and indeterminate and prefer to look at culture as common elements of symbols, concepts, meanings, and linguistics learned and shared from the dominant society and within smaller social groupings. According to Weiss (1999), psychologists believe that these elements are socially developed for they are a result of individuals going about their daily endeavors. They agree strongly that these elements are not only deducible but also practical in the sense that they are formed by human beings in experiential circumstances and therefore, believe that we are products of the environment we grow in (Weiss et al, 1999).

Conceptual and Methodological Problems

Hoagwood (1997) noted that our varying understanding of the meaning of culture has been said to play a major role in generating differences in the way we relate culture to mental health problems. Issues in the definitions that have elicited the impediments include:

1. Ideological uses: Each ethnic group is said to possess unique values and preferences which place them as being different from another ethnic group. This has elicited mixed reactions from different people since the question of the uniqueness of a group can only be determined if the values and preferences are scientifically proven. This has remained unanswered since science cannot be used to test values and beliefs as these are all in the way you reason your case.
2. Tendency to over relate: Culture can be defined in such a way that it seeks to defend the values and practices of a certain group taking advantage of the fact that the ideal values have not been predetermined. This renders the usage of cultural orientations inapplicable in scientific pursuits. The lack of a standard measure for these artifacts leads to avenues for people with a tendency to relate evidence to have a way of justifying their cases by manipulating even the scientific evidence to suit their historical time and place of the occurrence.
3. Ambiguity in definitions: Lack of some important information in certain definitions of culture leads to missing information that would have been critical for scientific studies that would help determine the presence of developmental psychopathology. For instance, cultural definitions that state culture is morally determined render the approval of facts scientifically not possible since it’s just a matter of assessment.
4. Circular reasoning: When culture is defined in such a way that is reasoning moves in circles, the possibility of it supporting scientific evidence is obstructed.
5. Undifferentiated culture: Here, culture is inclusive of anything other than the traits of an individual. Culture is also generalized as a representation of all the ethnic groups as opposed to being differentiated along social and personal specific lines. This renders the definition vague and the generalization into global representation and demeans the possibility of testing facts scientifically as this can only be done in relation to a specific group (Hoagwood, 1997).

Culture and Psychopathology

In addition to culture-defining normal and abnormal behavior, it is also a measure of behavioral problems and psychological dysfunction. According to Parron (1997), culture determines the course of the disorder and its prediction as it triggers the environmental responses to behavioral problems and problematic behavior. The critical components of culture when assessing and diagnosing behavioral disorders include:

1. The cultural identity of the individual: Be sure to state the culture/cultures to which the individual is aligned while giving much attention to the language use. In multicultural contexts, be sure to consider both the host and the foreign cultures and specify the degree of involvement.
2. Cultural explanations of the individual’s illness: Here, the cultural inclinations are considered when determining the manner in which the disorder is perceived to be displayed, how serious according to the culture is the illness, what known illness is commonly used to identify this disorder, what the culture perceives as the cause of the illness and the preferred method of dealing with the illness according to culture.
3. The cultural factors related to psychosocial environment and functioning: Consider what is categorized as a source of stress in the culture and what is done to curb the stress in the social environment. For instance, the role of religion and leaders in offering support.
4. Cultural relationship between the individual and the clinician: Note the disparities in culture and social class between the ill individual and the clinician and their implications. For instance, how a failure in the communication language may hinder the individual from reporting the symptoms.
5. An overall cultural assessment for diagnosis and care: The final stage should be a comprehensive analysis of the findings and how they influence treatment.

Incorporating culture in handling Children’s mental disorders

The knowledge on the implications of differences in cultures can be applied to further the knowledge on developmental psychopathology. Several suggestions have been made on the best ways of going about this which include:

1. Defining and recombining data: As a remedy to avoiding missing critical information during diagnosis, the objects of data collection can be included. Particular attention should be given to the elements that make up the local community and then sum the information up with the traditionally known assessment to help come up with a comprehensive understanding of behavior.
2. Developing a critical distance of nomenclature: The requirement here is that incorporation of the use of signs and symptoms be recognized as a vital part of the language that is critical in communicating the reality, that when studied as social science will help issue caution seeking to distance itself from assumptions of predetermined recorded data.
3. Search for particularities: When gathering information on developmental psychopathology, it is advisable to focus on various different individuals as opposed to dwelling on the disparities in the individuals.
4. Lessons taught by translating activities: In the process of diagnosing mental disorders in children among different cultures, it is likely to be discovered that characteristics of mental disorders experienced across the globe follow a certain pattern depending on the culture. This will prove that truly a particular culture elicits certain factors that result in certain mental disorders.
5. Integrated science versus interdisciplinary scientific discoveries: This can be termed as the failure of science to appropriately take care of problems elicited by the social setting. This has in turn led to the development of superficial scientific study methods. As ideas continue to be shared amongst several departments of science, they foster the idea of unification of the departments thereby making it easier to combat a problem as opposed to acting upon findings from another department (Parron, 1997).

Conclusion

Finally, the diversity in our cultures, which we just deduced contributes to mental disorders related to its environment, helps us in understanding, assessing, and treating depressive experiences and disorders. Homogenization of the cultures should be avoided at all costs, as these diversities in our social setups are the same ones that form the basis for our survival.

Reference

Hoagwood, K., Jensen, P. S., (1997). Developmental Psychopathology and the Notion of Culture: Introduction to the Special Part on “The Fusion of Cultural Horizons: Cultural influences on the Assessment of Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents”. Rockville: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates Inc.

Parron, D. L., (1997). Fusion of Cultural Horizons: Cultural influences on the Assessment of Psychopathology on Children. Rockville: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates Inc.

Weiss, S.J., Goebel, P., Page, A., Wilson, P., (1999). The Impact of Cultural and Familial Context on Behavioral and Emotional Problems of Preschool Latino Children. San Francisco: Human Sciences Press.