DECODING SCHIZOPHRENIA ACROSS CULTURES

a tabula rasa in terms of preconceived notions, but erudite when it comes to medical knowledge.

The findings of this research suggest that even though psychiatric treatment and diagnosis are based on measurable medical assessments, there is still a very high element of subjectivity. This element of subjectivity is partly exacerbated by differences in cultural signifiers in the dyadic interactions. As such, it is related to a spectrum that varies from cultural distance to cultural congruence between the dyad (patient and the clinician).

Culturally normative experiences are assumed to improve accuracy in diagnosis and treatment. The more there is cultural distance between the dyad, the more likely that the innate nature of psychiatric subjectivity leads to lower reliability, imprecision, or poor treatment.

Tranulis et al. (2008) expand on this idea by asserting that “the process of interpreting and attributing psychotic experiences reflects each person’s cultural background, life experiences, and other social determinants” (Tranulis et al., 2008, p.225). Whether it is a clinician, carer, family member, or a patient, the way that the symptoms are perceived or expressed is attached to a person’s culturally related signifiers. This suggests the salience of deconstructing the dyadic interactions in understanding schizophrenia because it takes both the subjective and objective realities to reach a diagnosis; and culture plays a significant part of these dyadic interactions.

Furnham and Chan (2004) have found that attitudes and beliefs about mental illnesses are linked to demographic factors such as age, education, ethnic background, gender, family history of mental disorder, previous psychiatric training, and the degree to 256