A comparative cross-cultural study of the frequencies of hallucination in schizophrenia.

The frequencies of auditory, visual and olfactory hallucinations as defined by Wing et al. were studied in schizophrenic patients of various groups treated in the same hospital. The diagnosis of schizophrenia was made by the use of the Syndrome Check List. It was found that there were some cultural differences in the frequencies of hallucinations, these being higher in the African, West Indian and Asian culture groups than in the English and other groups. The possible clinical significance of these variations are discussed.