Question

What is a "culture-specific" psychological disorder? 2. give one example and explain why it is "culture-specific." (anthropology)

Answer 1

A culture-specific disorder, also known as a folk illness, is the manifestion of a set of psychological and physiological symptoms that are uniquely located or recognised as an illness only within a specific society or culture. For example, the Koro syndrome (a psychological disorder characterized by intense anxiety of the shrinking of the penis) is found mostly found in individuals in countries such as India, China and Japan. The reason why Koro syndrome is largely observed in young Asian men is discussed to be due to a prevailing lack of information about physiological puberty and sex education.