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Subculture

Although culture has been previously defined as beliefs shared by one group, not all members of that group necessarily hold to all of the same values and practices of that particular group. "Subculture is closely related to culture, but refers to subgroups who deviate in certain ways from a dominant culture in values, beliefs and norms [Leininger,1996, p. 47]." Subculture is when a person strongly identifies with a certain culture, but still "doesn't necessarily practice all the traditions or aspects of the culture" (Henley and Schott, 2000, p. 13).

One of the main factors to subcultural variation which the clinician will experience on the ward is the effect of acculturation on an individual. "A person is not a bundle of cultural facts, but rather a complex bundle of cultural influences and other factors." (Bonder et al., 2001, p.38)

Culture changes over time, and so it is important to understand the characteristics of the culture at the moment as well as the historical influences that have effected its development, such as migrations, wars, and advances in technology. Bonder et al. illustrate this point with the example of a client from Chinese culture.

Even if someone could know everything about Chinese culture, the individual being treated is not only Chinese but other experiences which shaped them (residence, language, degree of acculturation). (Bonder et al., 2001, p.39)