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Cultural relativism and psychiatric illness
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, PA 15212.
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
|July 1, 1989
Summary
Cultural relativism in psychiatry offers insights but can be misused. This study examines its historical applications, theoretical implications, and limitations in understanding mental illness across cultures.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Sociology
- Cultural Anthropology
Background:
- Psychiatry has historically intersected with sociology and cultural anthropology.
- The concept of cultural relativism has been applied to psychiatry, sometimes detrimentally.
- Contemporary biological determinism often dismisses cultural relativism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe cultural relativism.
- To review its application to illness.
- To analyze its historical and theoretical implications in psychiatry.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of cultural relativism.
- Historical review of its application in psychiatry.
- Theoretical examination of its impact on psychiatric practice.
Main Results:
- Cultural relativism has been controversially applied in psychiatry.
- Its use by antipsychiatrists aimed to discredit psychiatric practice.
- Biological determinism tends to disregard or trivialize cultural relativism.
Conclusions:
- Cultural relativism presents varied aspects, power, and limitations in psychiatric contexts.
- Understanding its historical and theoretical dimensions is crucial.
- A nuanced approach is needed to navigate its influence on mental illness perception.