Somatization Of Mental-emotional Distress, A Cross-cultural View

PurposeTo review and seek the evidence to prove that mental-emotional distress in Chineseis mostly displayed somatically.Objective and methodsTo review and reestablish evidence for the claim that seemingly lower rates ofmental-emotional distress among the Chinese reflect denial of the psychiatric illnessand a tendency to express somatically. In addition to clinical observation in the lasttwo and half years, and interviewing Chinese psychiatrists, selected studies forreview if they specifically considered somatization in Chinese subjects are mentioned.Literature searches were conducted by using both medical/psychiatric/psychologicaland social science databases.ResultsInterpretation of the literature is complicated by the considerable heterogeneityamong people described as "the Chinese" and by numerous factors affectingcollection of data, including issues of illness definition, sampling, and case finding;differences in help-seeking behavior; idiomatic expression of somatization ofmental-emotional distress; and the stigma of mental illness. Despite difficulties ininterpreting the literature, the available data strongly suggest that the Chinese do tendto deny mental-emotional complains and express it somatically.There is an obvious difference between Western and Eastern somatization of themental-emotional distress, which is mainly related to the cultural and social values as...