Child psychiatry in a multicultural context

Almost no society in the world is culturally or ethnically homogeneous. Migration, colonization, globalization, and the impact of media provide a multicultural context for our lives and thoughts. The juxtaposition of diverse cultural groups and the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary scientific discourse have brought fresh impetus to psychiatry from cultural psychology and anthropology. Cross-cultural research in child psychiatry has followed two courses: the study of difference in prevalence rates and patterns across cultures, and the consideration of what accounts for difference.