Psychiatric disorder and its declaration in contrasting areas of South Wales

Synopsis An earlier study suggested that the mining valleys of South Wales produced a higher rate of declared psychiatric illness than nearby rural areas. A replication during a later period showed that the rural area had now caught up with the mining area but a difference in sex ratios between the two areas had remained remarkably constant. A sampling survey, using self-assessment of symptoms in random samples, indicated that differential selection into the psychiatric services was likely to be a determining factor.