CULTURE, SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN TAIWAN AND JAPAN

Abstract

Based on the analysis of symptoms of samples of consecutive admissions to representative mental hospitals in the two cultures, three major findings emerge in this paper. The first is that factor analysis of the symptom patterns of hospitalized Taiwan Chinese and Japanese mental patients reveals both cross-culturally applicable and culturally specific symptom factors. The second major finding is the power and clarity of the cross-cultural differences in psychopathology which emerge. While the Japanese are likely to have disorders in arousal levels, to turn against themselves, and to see the major source of their problems as being within themselves, the Taiwan Chinese are much more likely to direct their symptomatology outward, to act out against others, and to perceive the outside world in unreal ways. The third major finding is that women in each culture are more likely than men both to show more severe symptomatology and to have a higher incidence of the symptom patterns which reflect the particular symptomatology of their culture.

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