Cultural Context in DSM Diagnosis: An American Indian Case Illustration of Contradictory Trends

Recent revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) increasingly acknowledge the importance of cultural context for the diagnosis of mental illness. However, these same revisions include evolving diagnostic criteria that simultaneously decontextualize particular disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As a result, the DSM reflects a contradictory role for context in psychiatric diagnosis. The case analysis presented here frames the consequences of this contradictory trend for an American Indian woman with a history of DSM-IV MDD and PTSD, whose diagnostic portrait is substantively altered in light of more recent DSM-5 criteria. Specifically, consideration of this respondent’s bereavement-related illness experience suggests that a sociocentric cultural frame of reference, which places high value on interdependent personal relationships, is not well-captured by DSM-5’s revised MDD or PTSD criteria, or the newly proposed categories of traumatic bereavement or Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. The respondent’s illness experience argues for greater recognition of this contradictory diagnostic trend, suggesting a need for future resolution of this tension toward more valid diagnosis for culturally diverse populations.