Cultural differences in diagnosis and treatment perceptions: Turkish collectivistic representations of common mental disorders.

Abstract

Purpose: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is less diagnosed among Turkish children, and Turkish clients drop out more often from depression treatments than Dutch clients. This article proposes that cultural differences in collectivistic versus individualistic perceptions of getting an ADHD diagnosis and being treated for depression might explain these ethnic disparities, which have been explored in this study.

Methods: Nine focus group discussions with Turkish individuals and 18 interviews with primary mental health practitioners were conducted.

Results: Findings show that Turkish participants do not view ADHD symptoms as problematic. Parents generally do not want children to be labelled as such and get professional help because they fear this will cause interpersonal problems. Depression is seen as problematic, as it disturbs social relationships and communities. However, Turkish participants prefer mediation to cognitive behavioural therapy, since the latter does not solve interpersonal problems.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight a dissonance between individualistic/biomedical and collectivistic/socioecological views on health and wellbeing, in which the focus is on the individual for the Dutch versus the social group for the Turkish. To match Turkish clients' needs, mental health professionals should tread carefully in ADHD labelling. With depression, professionals might consider interventions such as mediation in interpersonal conflicts to improve treatment adherence and outcomes.