Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T18:07:41.118Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A community study of minor psychiatric morbidity in Taiwan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Tai Ann Cheng
Tai Ann Cheng*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Tai Ann Cheng, Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 1. Chang-Te Street, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

A community study of minor psychiatric morbidity (MPM) was carried out on three population samples aged 15 and above randomly selected from rural (Yenpu), suburban (Chishan), and urban (Kaohsiung) communities (N = 350 for each) in Taiwan. A two-stage case finding strategy was applied with a newly developed and validated screening questionnaire (CHQ), and a modified Chinese version of the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-CV). The total response rate was 99·4% and there was no time lag between the CHQ screening and the second stage clinical interview conducted by a psychiatrist. The weighted validity of the CHQ was found to be acceptable (sensitivity 69·6%, specificity 94·8%, misclassification rate 11·4%). The overall weighted prevalence rate was 18·0% for men and 33·3% for women. Both the CIS and the CHQ data are used as the morbidity indices to investigate the sociodemographic risk factors of MPM. A higher risk of MPM, which occupied 92% of the total morbidity, was found to be associated with women aged 35 and above, the unemployed men, and the lower socioeconomic status after linear modelling.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , November 1988 , pp. 953 - 968
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews, G., Schonell, M. & Tennant, C. (1977). The relation between physical, psychological and social morbidity in a suburban community. American Journal of Epidemiology 105, 324–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banks, M. H. & Jackson, P. R. (1982). Unemployment and risk of minor psychiatric disorder in young people: cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence. Psychological Medicine 12, 789–798.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bash, K. W. & Bash-Liechti, J. (1969). Studies on the epidemiology of neuropsychiatric disorders among the rural population of the province of Khazestran Iran. Social Psychiatry 4, 137–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bash, K. W. & Bash-Liechti, J. (1974). Studies on the epidemiology of neuropsychiatric disorders among the population of the city of Shiraz, Iran. Social Psychiatry 9, 163–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bebbington, P., Hurry, J., Tennant, C., Sturt, E. & Wing, J. K. (1981). Epidemiology of mental disorders in Camberwell. Psychological Medicine 11, 561–579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benfari, R. C., Beiser, M., Leighton, A. H. & Mertens, C. (1972). Some dimensions of psychoneurotic behaviour in an urban sample. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 155, 77–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binder, J., Doller-Mikola, A. & Angst, J. (1981). An epidemiological study of minor psychiatric disturbances, a field study among 20-year-old females and males in Zurich. Social Psychiatry 16, 31–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The Structure of Psychological Well-being. Aldine: Chicago.Google Scholar
Briscoe, M. E. (1982). Sex Differences in Psychological Well-being. Psychological Medicine Monograph Supplement 1. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W. & Harris, T. (1978). The Social Origins of Depression. Tavistock: London.Google ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W. & Prudo, R. (1981). Psychiatric disorder in a rural and an urban population: 1. Aetiology of depression. Psychological Medicine 11, 581–599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carstairs, G. M. (1975). Measuring psychiatric morbidity in a south Indian population. Bulletin of the British Psychology Society 28, 95–101.Google Scholar
Cheng, T. A. (1985). A pilot study of mental disorders in Taiwan. Psychological Medicine 15, 195–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, T. A. (1987). A Community Study of Minor Psychiatric Morbidity in Taiwan. Unpublished PhD thesis: University of London.Google Scholar
Cheng, T. A. & Williams, P. (1986). The design and development of a screening questionnaire (CHQ) for use in community studies of mental disorders in Taiwan. Psychological Medicine 16, 415–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, T. A., Williams, P. & Clare, A. W. (1983). Reliability study of the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) between the British and Chinese psychiatrists. Bulletin of the Chinese Society of Neurology and Psychiatry 9, 54–55.Google Scholar
Chong, M. Y. & Cheng, T. A. (1985). Reliability study of the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS): The use of community sample. Bulletin of the Chinese Society of Neurology and Psychiatry 11, 27–34.Google Scholar
Chu, H. Y. (1985). An Evaluative Study on the Effect of Cultural Development. Committee for Assessment of Research and Development: Executive Yen, Taipei (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Cochrane, R. & Stopes-Roe, M. (1980). Factors affecting the distribution of psychological symptoms in urban areas of England. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 61, 445–460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cochrane, R. & Stopes-Roe, M. (1981). Women, marriage, employment and mental health. British Journal of Psychiatry 139, 373–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Comstock, G. W. & Helsing, K. J. (1976). Symptoms of depression in two communities. Psychological Medicine 6, 551–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Costello, C. G. (1982). Social factors associated with depression: a retrospective community study. Psychological Medicine 12, 329–339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dilling, H. & Weyerer, S. (1984). Prevalence of mental disorders in the small-town – rural region of Traunstein. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 69, 60–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dohrenwend, B. P. & Crandell, D. L. (1970). Psychiatric symptoms in community, clinic, and mental hospital groups. American Journal of Psychiatry 126, 1611–1621.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dohrenwend, B. P., Shrout, P. E., Egri, G. & Mendelson, F. S. (1980). Nonspecific psychological distress and other dimensions of psychopathology. Archives of General Psychiatry 37, 1229–1236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dressler, W. W. & Badger, L. W. (1985). Epidemiology of depressive symptoms in Black community: a comparative analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 173, 212–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dube, K. C. (1970). A study of prevalence and biosocial variables in mental illness in rural and urban community in Uttar Pradesh India. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 46, 327–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, G. (1981). The role of linear models in psychiatric epidemiology. Psychological Medicine 11, 179–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eaton, W. W. & Kessler, L. G. (1981). Rates of symptoms of depression in a national sample. American Journal of Epidemiology 114, 528–538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finlay-Jones, R. & Burvill, P. W. (1977). The prevalence of minor psychiatric morbidity in the community. Psychological Medicine 7, 474–489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foulds, G. A. & Bedford, H. (1975). Hierarchy of classes of personal illness. Psychological Medicine 5, 181–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, J. W. (1980). Gove's specific sex-role theory of mental illness: a research note. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 21, 260–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frerichs, R. R., Aneshensel, C. S. & Clark, V. A. (1981). Prevalence of depression in Los Angeles County. American Journal of Epidemiology 113, 691–699.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D. P., Kay, C. & Thompson, L. (1976). Psychiatric morbidity in general practice and the community. Psychological Medicine 6, 565–569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gore, S. (1978). The effect of social support in moderating the health consequences of unemployment. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 19, 157–165.Google Scholar
Gove, W. R. (1972). The relationship between sex roles, mental illness and marital status. Social Forces 51, 34–44.Google Scholar
Gove, W. R. (1978). Sex differences in mental illness among adult men and women: An evaluation of four questions raised regarding the evidence in the higher rates of women. Social Science and Medicine 12B, 187–198.Google Scholar
Henderson, S., Duncan-Jones, P., Byrne, D. G., Scott, R. & Adcock, S. (1979). Psychiatric disorders in Canberra. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 60, 355–374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henderson, S., Byrne, D. G. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1981). Neurosis and the Social Environment. Academic Press: London.Google Scholar
Hepworth, S. (1980). Moderating factors of the psychological impact of unemployment. Journal of Occupational Psychology 53, 139–146.Google Scholar
Hirschfeld, R. M. A. & Cross, C. K. (1982). Epidemiology of affective disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry 39, 35–46.Google Scholar
Ilfeld, F. W. (1978). Psychologic status of community residents along major demographic dimensions. Archives of General Psychiatry 35, 716–724.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, P. R & Warr, P. B. (1984). Unemployment and psychological ill-health: the moderating role of duration and age. Psychological Medicine 14, 605–614.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, R. (1985). Sex Differences in Minor Psychiatric Morbidity. Psychological Medicine Monograph Supplement 7. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.Google Scholar
Kasl, S. V., Gore, S. & Cobb, S. (1975). The experience of losing a job: reported changes in health, symptoms and illness behaviour. Psychosomatic Medicine 37, 106–122.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C. & Cleary, P. D (1980). Social class and psychological distress. American Sociological Review 45, 463–478.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, L. M. (1978). Social and cultural influences on psychopathology. Annual Review of Psychology 29, 405–433.Google Scholar
Knuiman, M. W. & Burvill, P. W. (1984). A statistical modelling approach to community prevalence data. Psychological Medicine 14, 167–173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leon, C. A. (1972). Psychiatry in Latin America. British Journal of Psychiatry 121, 121–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leff, J. P. (1974). Transcultural influences on psychiatrists' rating of verbally expressed emotion. British Journal of Psychiatry 125, 336–340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, T. Y. (1953). A study of the incidence of mental disorder in Chinese and other cultures. Psychiatry 16, 313–336.Google Scholar
Lin, T. Y., Rin, H., Yeh, E. K., Hsu, C. C. & Chu, H. M. (1969). Mental disorders in Taiwan, fifteen years later: a preliminary report. In Mental Health Research in Asia and the Pacific (ed. Caudill, W. & Lin, T. Y.), pp. 66–91. East-West Center Press: Honolulu.Google Scholar
Madianos, M., Vlachonikolis, I., Madianou, D. & Stefanis, C. (1985). Prevalence of psychological disorders in the Athens area. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 71, 479–487.Google Scholar
Marcos, L. R. (1979). Effects of interpreters on the evaluation of psychopathology in non-English-speaking patients. American Journal of Psychiatry 136, 171–174.Google ScholarPubMed
Markides, K. S. & Farrell, J. (1985). Marital status and depression among Mexican American. Social Psychiatry 20, 86–91.Google Scholar
Meile, R. L., Johnson, D. R. & Peter, L. (1976). Marital role, education, and mental disorder among women: test of an interaction hypothesis. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 17, 295–301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moser, C. A. & Kalton, G. (1971). Survey Methods in Social Investigation. Gower: Hants.Google Scholar
Mostow, E. & Newberry, P. (1975). Work role and depression in women: a comparison of workers and housewives in treatment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 45, 538–548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nandi, D. N., Banerjee, G., Boral, G. C., Ganguli, H., Ajmany, S., Ghosh, A. & Sarkar, S. (1979). Socio-economic status and prevalence of mental disorders in certain rural communities in India. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 59, 276–293.Google Scholar
Nathanson, C. A. (1980). Social roles and health status among women: the significance of employment. Social Science and Medicine 14A, 463–471.Google Scholar
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (1980) Classification of Occupations. HMSO: London.Google Scholar
Orley, J. & Wing, J. K. (1979). Psychiatric disorder in two African villages. Archives of General Psychiatry 36, 513–520.Google Scholar
Prudo, R., Brown, G. W., Harris, T. & Dowland, J. (1981). Psychiatric disorder in a rural and an urban population: 2. Sensitivity to loss. Psychological Medicine 11, 601–616.Google Scholar
Rin, H., Chu, H. M. & Lin, T. Y. (1966). Psychophysiological reactions of a rural and suburban population in Taiwan. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 42, 410–472.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, R. E., Stevenson, J. M. & Breslow, L. (1981). Symptoms of depression among Blacks and Whites in an urban community. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 169, 774–779.Google Scholar
Shepherd, M. (1977). Beyond the layman's madness: the extent of psychiatric disease. In Developments in Psychiatric Research (ed. Tanner, J.), pp. 178–198. Hodder & Stoughton: London.Google Scholar
Schlesselman, J. J. (1982). Case-control Studies: Design, Conduct, Analysis. Oxford University Press: New York.Google Scholar
Stafford, E. M., Jackson, P. R. & Banks, M. H. (1980). Employment, work involvement and mental health in less qualified young people. Journal of Occupational Psychology 53, 291–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, P. G., Dean, C., Ingham, J. G., Kreitman, N. B., Miller, P. McC. & Sashidharan, S. P. (1983). Psychiatric disorder in women from an Edinburgh community: associations with demographic factors. British Journal of Psychiatry 142, 238–246.Google Scholar
Tarnopolsky, A., Barker, S. M., Wiggins, R. D. & McLean, E. K. (1978). The effect of aircraft noise on the mental health of a community sample: a pilot study. Psychological Medicine 8, 219–233.Google Scholar
Taylor, , Lord, and Chave, S. (1964). Mental Health and Environment. Longmans: London.Google Scholar
Tennant, C. (1985). Female vulnerability to depression (editorial). Psychological Medicine 15, 733–737.Google Scholar
Tennant, C., Bebbington, P. & Hurry, J. (1982). Female vulnerability to neurosis: the influence of social roles. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 16, 135–140.Google Scholar
Treiman, D. (1977). Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale. In Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective, pp. 235–260. Academic Press: New York.Google Scholar
Uhlenhuth, E. H., Lipmann, R. S., Balter, M. B. & Stern, M. (1974). Symptom intensity and life stress in the city. Archives of General Psychiatry 31, 759–764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warheit, G. J., Holzer, C. E. & Schwab, J. J. (1973). An analysis of social class and racial differences in depressive symptomatology: a community study. Journal of Health & Social Behaviour 14, 291–299.Google Scholar
Warr, P. B. (1982). Psychological aspects of employment and unemployment (editorial). Psychological Medicine 12, 7–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warr, P. B. & Jackson, P. (1985). Factors influencing the psychological impact of prolonged unemployment and reemployment. Psychological Medicine 15, 795–807.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M. & Klerman, G. L. (1977). Sex differences and the epidemiology of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 34, 98–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weissman, M. M. & Klerman, G. L. (1979). Sex differences and the epidemiology of depression. In Gender and Disordered Behaviour. Sex Differences in Psychopathology (ed. Gomberg, E. S. and Franks, V.), pp. 381–425. Brunner/Mazel: New York.Google Scholar
Williams, P. & Tarnopolsky, A. (1980). Psychiatric case definition. Public Health Reviews IX (1–2), 67–92.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K. (1976). A technique for studying psychiatric morbidity in in-patient and out-patient series and in general population samples. Psychological Medicine 6, 665–671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed