The Need for Cross-Cultural Research on the Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Research on the pervasive developmental disorders within a cultural context and in developing countries has received limited attention from both the fields of mental health and anthropology. Although autism holds considerable potential for expanding the field of transcultural psychiatry, the bulk of research has consisted of case studies and brief reviews, with few studies undertaking a serious discussion of cultural factors. The current article reviews the literature to date on autism within a cultural context and highlights both rationale and directions for future efforts in this area, drawing from research with 109 families of autistic children in urban India.