Issues in the identification of comorbidity of mental retardation and psychopathology in a multicultural context

Identification of the comorbidity of mental retardation and psychopathology in a multicultural setting raises manifold difficulties. The present study explored the sampling and identification issues implicated in estimating the prevalence of this dual diagnosis in a South African clinic sample. The relations between the prevalence of dual diagnosis and socioeconomic status, gender, and severity level of retardation were investigated. The detection rate of 4.36% was significantly lower than that of other studies. Prevalence was found to be greater in areas of high socioeconomic status, among males, and among less severely retarded individuals. Implications of these findings for cross-cultural studies and for allocation of service resources for patients with dual diagnosis are considered.