Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cross-Cultural Psychology
Cross-Cultural Psychology
Cross-Cultural Psychology
Abuse
Culturally
Bound?
Vedika Basu
Historical Roots of Substance Consumption
Many cultures around the world have used substances like alcohol, psychedelic
mushrooms or hashish for medicinal, spiritual or social purposes.
For example, the American Indians and Alaska Natives people used alcohol
sparingly and only during specific ceremonies before colonisation. (Crocq 2007)
However, after the advent of colonisation, these cultures started using alcohol
more frequently and a higher number of alcohol misuse is still reported in these
communities.
Some AIAN elders believe that a disconnect from traditional culture has
contributed towards alcohol abuse.
Alcohol has become a big part of African culture due to colonisation. The African
slaves were paid for their effort with alcohol instead of money.
There are different cultural and national standards for
substance use and abuse.
It is illegal to sell or purchase Marijuana in the United States, but it is legal under
some circumstances in Holland
You can buy a bottle of wine in a student cafeteria in France, but this is impossible to
do in a university like FLAME or Ashoka.
The accessibility of substances depends on the importance placed by the culture and
the attitudes towards substance consumption.
There is no universal criterion that would
distinguish normal from abnormal drinking
Even though Europe makes up just 15% of the population, it
consumes 50% of the alcohol on Earth.
As Asians have a weeker gene switch, they are less inclined to choose fatty foods and
alcohol genetically.
Biological Factors and Substance Consumption
It was found that approximately 50% of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese individuals
lack aldehyde dehydrogenase in their blood which eliminates the first breakdown
product of alcohol.
As a result, they get a flushed face and palpitations when the consume alcohol, and
hence are not as likely to drink in large amounts.
The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that cells of
Africans who smoke absorb more nicotine than do the cells of White or
Hispanic smokers. The frequency or level of smoking did not matter.
Research by Borges et al (2011) showed that Hispanic people who migrate to the
U.S. as children have a higher chance of substance use disorder compared to those
who migrate as adolescents or adults, but an overall lower chance than Hispanic
people born in the U.S.
This because these children lose their connect with their home culture.
Alcohol related disorders are also associated with lower educational levels,
lower socio-economic status and higher rates of unemployment. However, it is
difficult to say what is cause and what is effect.
Psychodiagnostic
Biases
The cultural background of the professional can
influence his perception of different behaviours.
The Western diagnostic assessments of patients with this disorder varied with
different diagnostic procedures employed. It could be anxiety disorder,
depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder
Culture-bound syndromes challenge any universal categorization because
of the culturally specific content of the disorders
O'Neil, C. (2011). Europeans 'evolved' to drink more. Independent. Retrieved 2022, from
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/europeans-evolved-to-drink-more-
2313665.html
Borges G, Breslau J, Orozco R, Tancredi DJ, Anderson H, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Mora ME. A cross-
national study on Mexico-US migration, substance use and substance use disorders. Drug
Alcohol Depend. 2011 Aug 1;117(1):16-23. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.12.022. Epub 2011
Feb 5. PMID: 21296509; PMCID: PMC3110586.