Thanks pachyderm. If you come across any others, drag 'em in here.

My purpose in initiating this thread is because I want to know if the above statements are true or not, and the only way to know is to take a good look at the data.

Three international studies that consistently demonstrate a higher recovery rate is nothing to sneeze at but I have heard criticisms of late. One of the things I'm wondering is are those criticisms tied in in any manner with big pharma? Certainly, they would stand to lose a great deal if it was discovered that more people can recover with minimal medication or no medication at all, which is surely the case in some of these developing nations.

I'm also eager to see what psychosocial factors can possibly be identified that others could then attempt to replicate to further their own recovery. As but one example, the article on Culture and Mind (shown in green) notes that there is a shortage of nursing staff in hospitals in India and for this reason, family members are sometimes pressed into providing in-hospital care. I do know that not every parent is a good parent, but I believe that most are and certainly, individuals in crisis often benefit from maintaining or strengthening their social ties. Having family members provide "in-hospital nursing care" is a very different approach from Westernized nations where family members are restricted to visiting during specific hours and may not be provided any information related to treatment due to various privacy laws.

Given the scope and diversity of these studies, I'm expecting it might be difficult to interpret all the data but I'm willing to give it a shot. I will surely learn something in the process and hope that others will as well.
Continuing in that vein, I've tracked down the study by Hopper and Wanderling that was cited above. I'll post that next.