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Depersonalization in psychiatric patients: a transcultural study
Mauricio Sierra1, Juliana Gomez, Juan J Molina
1Depersonalization Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK. M.Sierra-Siegert@iop.kcl.ac.uk
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
|May 16, 2006
Summary
Depersonalization experiences differ across cultures. Colombian psychiatric patients reported lower depersonalization scores compared to UK and Spanish samples, suggesting cultural factors influence this condition.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Cross-cultural psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Depersonalization prevalence may vary culturally.
- Understanding cultural influences on depersonalization is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of culture on depersonalization prevalence.
- To compare depersonalization and dissociation scores in psychiatric patients across the UK, Spain, and Colombia.
Main Methods:
- Utilized standardized self-rating measures: Cambridge Depersonalization Scale and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES).
- Compared psychiatric inpatient samples from the United Kingdom (N=31), Spain (N=68), and Colombia (N=41).
Main Results:
- Colombian patients exhibited significantly lower global scores on both the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale and the DES (all subscales except DES-Absorption).
- No significant differences were observed in depression or anxiety measures across the samples.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the hypothesis that depersonalization is influenced by cultural factors.
- The individualism-collectivism dimension may play a role, with individualistic cultures potentially increasing vulnerability to depersonalization.
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