Publication year: 2011
Source: Social Science & Medicine, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 13 July 2011
Sigrun, Olafsdottir , Bernice A., Pescosolido
According to classic and contemporary social theory, the community is crucial to how individuals respond to the onset of health problems. Cultural response to symptoms provides the foundation for lay diagnosis; offers a gauge for marking individual and societal health literacy; and reflects the cultural embeddedness of modern medical knowledge. Using data collected between 2004 and 2007 from the Stigma in Global Context – Mental Health Study (SGC-MHS) on the recognition of schizophrenia from vignettes describing individuals meeting DSM-IV criteria, we examine the nature and correlates of lay diagnosis. Focusing on Western societies in the SGC-MHS, we ask three questions…