Is Schizophrenia Universal? An Open Question

"... insanity belongs almost exclusively to civ-ilized races of men: it scarcely exists among savages, and is rare in barbarous countries." J.C. Prichard, A Treatise on Insanity, 1835 Is schizophrenia universal? A whole genera-tion of psychiatrists is being trained to assume that it is. The question is not even asked any-more as it was 20 years ago. The universality of schizophrenia is now widely considered to be an established fact. When textbooks of psychiatry deal with the question at all, it is usually in a tone of dis-missal: "Sociocultural studies have demon-strated that schizophrenia occurs in both primi-tive and civilized societies and that incidence