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Mental Health in Africa: II. the Nature of Mental Disorder in Africa Today

Some Clinical Observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

G. Allen German
G. Allen German*
Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009
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Extract

Aspects of clinical psychiatric syndromes described in Africa which are discussed include the issue of schizophrenic disorders having a better prognosis in developing countries; controversy over this is by no means at an end. There is an increasing realisation as to the frequency of affective disorders in Africa; while somatisation is common, cherished beliefs, such as the absence of guilt, have not been confirmed by more recent research. Nor is suicide as infrequent as has been suggested. The relationship of background physiological abnormalities of cerebral functioning may be relevant to some of the clinical issues that are currently under discussion in African psychiatry.

Type
Review Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 151 , Issue 4 , October 1987 , pp. 440 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1987 

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