SOMATOFORM DISORDERS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES - A MAIL QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

A mail questionnaire survey was organized by WHO to obtain expert opin ion on the cross-cultural applicability of ICD-10 definitions of somat oform disorders. A response was obtained from 42 experts in 23 countri es representing all five continents. The results showed that the ICD-1 0 concept of somatoform disorders was generally acceptable for use acr oss cultures. However, a number of culture-specific symptoms, characte ristics and terms that do not appear in ICD-10 were found to be common and important for the diagnosis of somatoform disorders in particular cultures. Pointing out the relative restrictiveness of ICD-10 criteri a for somatization disorder, the experts emphasized the usefulness of having the more inclusive category of undifferentiated somatoform diso rder. The survey was organized as the starting point of the WHO Intern ational Study of Somatoform Disorders. The major goal of the study is to improve understanding of the somatic presentation of psychological disorders in different cultures.