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Transcultural psychiatry: Comparison of eastern and western culture and their influence on mental health and its treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

S.P. Tiong ,
S. Rajkumari ,
N.F.B. Rasidi  and
O.V. Poplavskaya
S.P. Tiong*
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, Narcology And Psychotherapy, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd, Russian Federation
S. Rajkumari
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, Narcology And Psychotherapy, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd, Russian Federation
N.F.B. Rasidi
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, Narcology And Psychotherapy, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd, Russian Federation
O.V. Poplavskaya
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, Narcology And Psychotherapy, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd, Russian Federation
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

In a globalizing world, the need for humans to understand one another is fundamental. Transcultural Psychiatry aims to bridge the differences due to culture, norms and values between doctors and patients.

Objectives

To study the beliefs of Eastern and Western populations on the subject of religion, the paranormal and its relation to mental health.

Methods

The study was conducted targeting citizens of Eastern and Western countries (target sample size 200). A survey and 2 case studies were distributed, aimed to determine respondent’s level of belief in cultural superstitions and practices, views on mental disorders and opinions on treatment. A chi-square statistical test (significance set at ≤0.05) was performed to test validity.

Results

are tabulated in Table 1. In the case studies, P-value =4.68x10-6 proves a strong relationship between East/West populations and their viewpoints on mental illness vs. possession. There is a strong relationship (p=3.37x10-5) between respondents’ beliefs in spiritual healing and its effectiveness in treating mental illness.

Table 1
EastWest
Total respondents (226)58%42%
Identified as religious74%26%
Strong belief in paranormal85%15%
Effectiveness of spiritual healing55%45%
Preferred methods of treatment
Mental health professionals54%46%
Religious healer/psychic90%10%

Conclusions

The study revealed that Eastern populations are far more superstitious and religious than their Western counterparts, and also have higher belief in the effectiveness of spiritual healing to treat mental disorders. This difference demonstrates the importance of integrating culture into diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, and further explore methods for more inclusive treatment plans.

Keywords

transcultural psychiatryEast vs. WestCultural beliefsModern medicine
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S322
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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