A Cross-Cultural Study of Medical-Psychiatric Symptoms

Abstract

The 195-item self-administered Cornell Medical Index was used as a standardized medical history to investigate differences in the number and kind of medical and psychological symptoms reported by patients of different cultural backgrounds. In addition, the effect of sex and emotional disturbance on the number of symptoms a patient reports was investigated. Accordingly, the CMI was given to each admission to the medical and psychiatric services of Gorgas Hospital in the Canal Zone over a 3-month period as part of their routine admitting procedure. Forms from 417 (86. 7% of the true potential sample) were obtained and subjected to statistical analysis. The results indicated the following: women have significantly more symptoms than men; psychiatric patients have significantly more symptoms than medical patients of the same sex; Latin Americans have significantly more symptoms than North Americans of the same sex and hospital service. The relative incidence of individual symptoms in the CMI between North American and Latin American medical patients was analyzed and discussed. Most striking was the high incidence of symptoms of feelings of personal inadequacy, hypersensitivity, and hostility among the Latin Americans of both sexes. Other differences probably relate more specifically to differences in the physical environment and the availability, adequacy, and utilization of medical facilities for the 2 groups.