A cross-cultural study of the frequencies of Schneider's first rank symptoms of schizophrenia.

The Syndrome Check List (SCL) as detailed by Wing et al. (1) was used on patients belonging to various cultural groups admitted to a London hospital. On the basis of combined Catego diagnosis of schizophrenia and paranoid schizophrenia the frequency of patients with first rank symptoms (FRS) for each group was calculated. It was found that the frequencies of FRS showed cultural differences and that these differences were less when groups were relatively culturally similar. These findings are compared with findings elsewhere. The clinical dilemma presented by these findings is discussed.