Reports epidemiological and clinical findings on 1,481 outpatients treated for the 1st time in psychiatric outpatient clinics in the northern Algerian region, the Grande Kabylie, during 1971-1972. Data are not conclusive regarding incidence and prevalence of mental illness in this region. Analysis of the data showed the following: (a) Male patients availed themselves of psychiatric treatment twice as often as females and were found twice as often among the previously treated group as corresponding female patients. The differential demand for psychiatric care of male and female patients in the Kabylie is seen as an effect of the existing culture. (b) There were more single persons and emigrants among the patients than among the general population of the Kabylie. (c) The proportion of chronic psychiatric disorders was high especially among male patients. Possible explanations of this finding could be separation from family or village community, unemployment and lack of welfare services, preexisting lack of outpatient services, and excessive prescribing of psychotropic drugs. To interpret and discuss the available data on the Kabylie patient group, comparable outpatient statistics from West Germany, Great Britain, and developing countries were used. (1½ p ref)