Cultural Considerations for Childhood Disorders: How Much was Included in DSM-IV?

Abstract

This paper addresses the extent to which the recommendations of a Child Committee of the Group on Culture and Diagnosis of the DSM-IV Task Force were incorporated into the DSM-IV text. After a brief introduction and a description of the importance of including cultural variables in childhood psychiatric disorders, we review the cultural recommendations for specific childhood disorders and discuss those areas that were included and those that were omitted in the DSM-IV text. The last section addresses the need for empirical data on culture-bound syndromes in children and on the cultural mechanisms that may explain onset and prognosis of these disorders.