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Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
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Illness behaviour in mental ill-health in Kuwait

M. Fakhr El-Islam

M. Fakhr El-Islam Dept. of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine P.O. Box 24923 Safat KUWAIT 13110

Sanaa I. Abu-Dagga

From the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923 Safat, KUWAIT 13110.

Two hundred and eight individuals were interviewed in order to study the behaviour they adopt in relation to the most common somatic and emotional symptoms of mental ill-health. Illness behaviour included ignoring, brooding, self-help and consultation of others. Older individuals tended more frequently to resort to meditation, native healers and doctors. Males consulted doctors more than females. Brooding was more frequent in well educated subjects. A group of married expatriates who left their wives in their original countries were the most likely to consult doctors. Education and marital status were the most predictive of brooding and self-help behaviour.

Self-help was the most commonly adopted illness behaviour. The results are explained in terms of the social and cultural background of the individuals studied because this influences their methods of expressing distress and their action in relation to symptoms.

Key Words: illness behaviour • mental ill-health • Kuwait • somatic symptoms • emotional symptoms • self-help • consultation • brooding.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 18, No. 3, 195-201 (1990)
DOI: 10.1177/140349489001800307
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