Question

Currently, the number of first-time admissions of individuals diagnosed as manic-depressives to hospitals in Great Britain exceeds by nine times the number of admissions of such patients to public and private hospitals in the United States, even though the population size of the United States is many times that of Great Britain. 

Which of the following, if true, would be most useful to an attempt to explain the paradox described above?
1. The term ‘manic-depressive’ refers to a wider range of mentally ill patients in Great Britain than it does in the United States
2. The admission rate in the United States includes those individuals who visit clinics for the first time as well as those who are admitted directly to hospitals.
3. A small percentage of patients diagnosed as manic-depressive in Great Britain are admitted to private nursing homes rather than hospitals.
4. The variety of training institutions in psychology in the United States is greater than in Great Britain, reflecting the variety of schools of psychology that have developed in the United States.

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : The term ‘manic-depressive’ refers to a wider range of mentally ill patients in Great Britain than it does in the United States

The paradox here is that even though the population in USA exceeds that of Britain, the number of manic depressives admitted for the first time in Great Britain is higher than that in USA. The only option that can logically explain this situation is option 1. Great Britain could have a larger range of mental diseases which come under the broad definition of 'manic depressives' than in the USA. Options 2, 3 and 5 would not explain the paradox, rather they would refute the statement. Option 5 is not relevant and cannot be concluded form the information given in the passage. Thus, option 1 is the correct answer.