Bipolar Disorders: Cultural Factors

Although the evidence base is relatively limited, there is a growing awareness that there may be important cultural influences on the identification, expression, and clinical management of bipolar disorders (BDs). These cultural influences may be driven by regional, ethnic, racial, or other (e.g., religious) differences in the perceptions of mental health disorder more broadly, but it may also be a [Page 505]function of group differences in the perception or expression of specific symptoms that accompany BDs, which are marked by distinct episodes of mania and depression, as well as accompanying clinical features such as psychosis. To date, the research literature has primarily focused on cultural factors across BD epidemiology, diagnostic practices and clinical presentation, and also on patterns of treatment engagement and treatment received.