In:
Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review, SAGE Publications, Vol. 8, No. 1 ( 1971-04), p. 31-34
Abstract:
A syndrome called koro by the Malaysians, characterized by intense fear of the penis shrinking into the abdomen, has a long history in Chinese medicine. According to A. Gwee it is much more common in Chinese and Malaysians than is generally believed. In 1967 an epidemic of this disorder occurred in Singapore. Observations made on this occasion are described by A. GWEE and P. W. NGUI. The Semai are an indigenous tribe of central Malaya who use a simple machete technology to cultivate hill rice and tapioca. In the early 1960s R. K. DENTAN spent seven months in each of two Semai villages. He describes their response patterns to mental aberration, their etiological concepts regarding disordered behavior, and the procedures employed by them for treatment of the mentally ill. A. B. SuwANA studied Bangkok women with psychosomatic and psychoneurotic symptoms regarding causes for their psychiatric breakdown. The author found differences between Chinese and Thai women produced by culture change. P. G. BOURNE reports psychiatric observations in American, Australian, and Vietnamese troops fighting in Vietnam. Two papers from the Philippines conclude this section. F. L. JOCANO studied visions and hallucinations induced by cultural beliefs in a rural popu lation. He discusses how far the content of such hallucinations may have been determined by child-rearing practices. The object of R. SHAKMAN'S study was to learn (a) which forms of mental illness respond to the techniques of Philippine indigenous healing, (b) in which way therapeutic successes are related to Philippine culture, and (c) which role the folk healer occupies in Philippine medicine and society.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0041-1108
DOI:
10.1177/136346157100800108
Language:
English
Publisher:
SAGE Publications
Publication Date:
1971
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