It's not an insanity checklist. It's a list of symptoms to determine if a person is experiencing psychotic episodes and needs medication, supervision or therapy in order to not present a danger to her/himself or others. The list is necessary because these symptoms can only partially be determined through physical measurements (MRI, to a certain degree). There are similar checklists for all psychological conditions, such as anxiety, depression or related disorders such as OCD, addiction, sociopathy etc.
Different cultures will have slightly different questions for these checklists. They are not universal, but there are some underlying themes. Where I'm from, for instance (Norway), the "Jesus", "aliens" or "agents" questions aren't there. However, there are similar questions about believing you're an important histogical figure, seeing ghosts or believing that others can control your thoughts.
Psychosis is a universal human phenomenon, but its specific manifistation is to some degree culturally dependent.
Just as a side note, I object to the use of the word "insane" to describe people with psychiatric conditions. It creates an unnatural "us vs. them" divide. Many seemingly normal people have some degree of symptoms of mental illness while functioning well in society. It only becomes a problem if one is unable to function somehow, or becomes a danger to oneself or others.
Different cultures will have slightly different questions for these checklists. They are not universal, but there are some underlying themes. Where I'm from, for instance (Norway), the "Jesus", "aliens" or "agents" questions aren't there. However, there are similar questions about believing you're an important histogical figure, seeing ghosts or believing that others can control your thoughts.
Psychosis is a universal human phenomenon, but its specific manifistation is to some degree culturally dependent.
Just as a side note, I object to the use of the word "insane" to describe people with psychiatric conditions. It creates an unnatural "us vs. them" divide. Many seemingly normal people have some degree of symptoms of mental illness while functioning well in society. It only becomes a problem if one is unable to function somehow, or becomes a danger to oneself or others.