Can behavior that is normative in one culture be mistaken for a personality disorder in another?

Can an entire culture be said to suffer from a personality disorder?

Personality Disorders and Culture explores these questions and many more. It reviews the worldwide literature on the subject and covers all aspects of the links between culture and personality disorder. Stressing the importance of cultural awareness for mental health professionals in multicultural societies, this groundbreaking book sets forth a dimensional model of the ways in which a cultural perspective can inform our understanding of personality development and personality disorders. The authors assess the cultural foundations of the pathogenesis of these disorders and identify social and cultural practices that contribute to the development of personality styles.

Interpreting concrete information on personality disorders, this book presents findings on the epidemiology of personality disorders in different clinical settings and evaluates them critically from the cultural perspective. It also analyzes cross-national comparisons and discusses cultural influences and their decisive role in the diagnosis and classification of personality disorders.

Finally, Personality Disorders and Culture examines the role of culture in interpreting and explaining behaviors that resemble personality disorders but are, instead, normative to a given culture. It also reveals how culture can be used to devise effective therapeutic interventions at individual and group levels in a variety of settings and explains why cultural concepts and practices should be an integral component of and can have a powerful positive effect on the structure, delivery, and management of care systems for personality disorders.

For clinicians, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding personality from a cultural perspective, Personality Disorders and Culture is an indispensable resource. It is also an excellent textbook for graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses in anthropology, psychology, sociology, diagnosis, and clinical treatment.

Acclaim for Personality Disorders and Culture

"Expanding on its origins with profound innovations, Personality Disorders and Culture is a much awaited treatment of a subject that has held center stage in our field for decades. Written with verve and insight, I found I could not put the book down. It has brought the subject alive...and will serve as a stimulating text for graduate students and residents equally in this day of multicultural studies." Theodore Millon, PhD, Dean and Director, Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and Psychotherapy

"A groundbreaking contribution, this book gives us the first comprehensive analysis of the effects of culture on personality and significantly advances the field. I strongly recommend Personality Disorders and Culture." Lillian Comas-Díaz, PhD, Director, Transcultural Mental Health Institute, Editor, Cultural Diversity and Mental Health

"Ever since the DSM-III in 1980 presented the Axis structure for mental disorders, there has been a critical need to develop the Axis II disorders. The authors of this interesting volume, oriented toward cultural concepts and research, have brought some of the most advanced ideas to bear on personality disorders. The book is instructive and deserves thoughtful consideration." Lloyd R. Rogler, PhD, Albert Schweitzer University, Professor Fordham University

"Personality Disorders and Culture is an excellent contribution to the field. It offers new and unique perspectives on the treatment of personality disorders within a cultural framework. This book is an invaluable clinical resource for mental health professionals." Pedro Ruíz, MD, Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, The University of Texas, Houston

"An unusually fine integration of disciplinary perspectives including psychiatry, cultural anthropology, and psychology especially personality theory in an innovative mix that elucidates personality disorders in unique and significant ways. It is equally valuable to the scholar and the clinician because it contributes an understanding of personality disorders that transcends the limited and generally inadequate views found in the current literature in each discipline. The depth and breadth of the treatises in this book are a delight to the reader!" Joan D. Koss-Chioino, PhD, Professor and Director Program in Medical Anthropology, Arizona State University

"A wide-ranging integration of recent thought on personality, culture, and psychopathology certain to be of great value to clinicians and researchers looking for culturally relevant approaches to psychiatry." Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD, Professor and Director, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Editor in Chief, Transcultural Psychiatry