Sixty mothers of preschool children from African, Malay, and White groups in Cape Town, South Africa, were interviewed about the presentation, understanding, and management of behaviour problems. Overall symptom prevalence was similar across groups; results coincided with international findings. Differences were related in the main to material circumstances. Certain problems viewed as signifying disorder by White mothers-such as rocking and thumb sucking-were seen as part of a normal developmental process by African mothers. Some of the problems inherent in South African transcultural psychiatry are discussed.
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