A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF MEDICAL-PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS.

Differences in the number and kind of medical and psychiatric symptoms between North American and Latin American patients at Gorgas Hospital in the Canal Zone were investigated. Women reported significantly more symptoms than men; psychiatric patients more than medical patients; and Latin American patients more than North American patients. Compared to the North American patients, the Latin Americans reported a strikingly higher incidence of feelings of personal inadequacy, hypersensitivity, and hostility. Other differences appeared to be related to a variety of socio-cultural variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]