ABSTRACT
As yet there is neither a sufficiently precise nosology nor an adequate supply of scholars properly trained in psychiatry and the behavioral science to even attempt a definitive comparison of rates of mental disorders in different countries. Data is available for hospitalization rates, but there is no indication that this accurately reflects incidence rates because hospitalization policies vary so greatly from country to country. There have been a few studies of prevalence, but, since care and treatment has an effect on mental condition, even studies of prevalence may not accurately reflect incidence rates. The few incidence studies that have been attempted have been insufficiently standardized between countries and have relied on brief interviews done by partially trained interviewers (or else on very small samples). Where reliability checks have been made on diagnostic classification, the reliability has been extremely low. 1
