Rashda Tabassum and Colleagues (2000)
Learning Outcome: Using one or more examples, explain “emics” and “etics”.
Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Background Information:
Etics- universal behaviors
Emics- culture- specific behaviors
Structured Interview- straightforward interview and use a standard set of questions that are asked to all the participants
Aim: To investigate whether differences exist between the emics of depression; and to determine whether those are differences inthe Western etics which are used to evaluate and treat depression in ethnic populations living within Western cultures.
Methods:
Emic definitions of depressive symptoms from Pakistanis living in the United Kingdom (UK) were compared to existing predominant etic descriptions used by western psychiatrists treating them. Women’s mental health needs were explored, and clarified inconsistencies about the frequency of mental disorder, and attitudes toward mental disorder. Previously Pakistanis mental health was dictated by the domination of Western etics.
Participants consisted of first and second-generation Pakistani women, living in a poor UK urban setting. The interviews were all conducted in family group because males would not allow females to meet with the researchers alone. Twenty-two males born in Pakistan, twenty-nine first generation women, and twenty-three second generation women participated.
The study’s setting was in participants’ homes in English, Urdu, Punjabi, with a combination of two languages. Only seven families allowed the researcher to record interviews, creating transcription difficulties; researchers took detailed notes during the interview when recording was not allowed. Interview consisted of twenty-one questions, which tested for perception of causes for mental disorder, help-seeking behavior, family perception and reaction to disorder, and the community status of people with mental disorder. Since Western symptoms did not always directly translate and Pakistani culture had some different ways of conceptualizing mental disorder, researchers had difficulty translating the questions.
Results:
Data showed an emic description of mental disorder centering on model symptoms, though they were fairly knowledgeable of Western etic mental health. Sixty-three percent of participants viewed aggression as a main symptom of abnormality. Pakistani culture is collectivist and emphasizes politeness in social behavior; therefore aggressiveness is viewed s more abnormal than anxious or depressed symptoms. However, similarly to Western cultures, they identified stress as a primary factor of the mental disorder. Some participants used the terms “anxiety” and “depression”, but such words in Urdu had different meanings from Western etic descriptions. Twenty-five percent of the participants attributed mental disorders to supernatural causes and thirty-five percent believed in faith healers.
Most males thought a general practitioner (GP) should be consulted for treatments, while fewer females identified a GP as the first person to consult. Thus there may be cultural barriers to women seeking help from doctors. Even though a prevalent attitude was to cope with mental health problems, hospitalization was a last resort.
Pakistanis may fear the stigma associated with mental disorder. The study
successfully identified barriers that women face in getting mental health service. In addition, differences between emic and etic approaches to understanding mental disorder were uncovered.
Strengths:
- Structured interviews make it easier for the interviewer to evaluate and compare.
- Structured interviews are easier and less time consuming to analyze than other studies in general.
Limitations:
- Structured interviews do not yield data rich information as it limits to participant to a structured response.
- Structured interviews do not engage participant on a personal level and therefore limits amount of information.
- This study used selective sampling because of the participants’ culture. It can be corrected through the use of random sampling adhering to culturally sensitive standards.
- Another limitation of this study is social desirability bias due to the fact that the researcher was known to be a doctor possibly interfering with the responses.
- Western research models where individuals respond to interview questions are not always the best way to collect data in collectivist cultures.
- Difficult to collect data because words had different meanings in the Urdu culture.