ABSTRACT

The five case studies were selected first for the extent of available behavioural science (psychiatry and psychology) literature, and second, the accessibility of public opinion polls and print media information from the respective countries. The case studies will incorporate literature based on the psychiatry diagnostic tool, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders third edition (DSM-III) and fourth edition text revision (DSM-IV-TR) developed by the American Psychiatric Association. DSM-III was released in 1980, DSM-IV in 1994, and DSM-IV-TR released in 2000. As mentioned in Chapter 2, DSM is a categorical classification system developed for use in clinical, educational and research settings that divides mental disorders into types based on criteria sets with defining features. The mental disorders section of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is another commonly used guide and the two classifications use the same diagnostic codes. These quantitative approaches allow for direct cross-comparison of data across the various available studies within and across the case studies.