Ryder Andrew G, Yang Jian, Zhu Xiongzhao, Yao Shuqiao, Yi Jinyao, Heine Steven J, Bagby R Michael
Concordia University.
Asian Initiative in Mental Health.
J Abnorm Psychol. 2008 May;117(2):300-313. doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.117.2.300.
The expectation that Chinese people present distress somatically is a central prediction of cultural psychopathology and has been the subject of considerable theoretical speculation. At the same time, empirical studies have been infrequent and have yielded mixed results. The authors examined symptom presentation in Chinese (n=175) and Euro-Canadian (n=107) outpatients, using spontaneous problem report, structured clinical interview, and symptom questionnaire methods. All 3 methods yielded cross-culturally equivalent somatic and psychological symptom subscales. Chinese outpatients reported more somatic symptoms on spontaneous problem report and structured clinical interview compared with Euro-Canadians, who in turn reported more psychological symptoms on all 3 methods. The relation between culture and somatic symptom presentation was mediated by a tendency toward externally oriented thinking. Difficulties with identifying emotions or describing them to others did not differ significantly across cultures, supporting a nonpathological interpretation of observed differences. Psychological symptom effects were larger and more consistent than somatic symptom effects; because other studies have confirmed the ubiquity of somatic presentations worldwide, these results suggest that Western psychologization may be more culturally specific than is Chinese somatization.
认为中国人倾向于以躯体方式呈现痛苦，这是文化心理病理学的一个核心预测，并且一直是大量理论推测的主题。与此同时，实证研究并不常见，结果也参差不齐。作者使用自发问题报告、结构化临床访谈和症状问卷方法，对175名中国门诊患者和107名欧洲裔加拿大门诊患者的症状表现进行了研究。所有这三种方法都得出了跨文化等效的躯体和心理症状分量表。与欧洲裔加拿大人相比，中国门诊患者在自发问题报告和结构化临床访谈中报告了更多的躯体症状，而欧洲裔加拿大人则在所有三种方法中报告了更多的心理症状。文化与躯体症状表现之间的关系是由外向型思维倾向介导的。在识别情绪或向他人描述情绪方面的困难在不同文化之间没有显著差异，这支持了对观察到的差异的非病理学解释。心理症状的影响比躯体症状的影响更大且更一致；由于其他研究已经证实躯体表现在全球范围内普遍存在，这些结果表明西方的心理化可能比中国的躯体化更具文化特异性。
