New lines of inquiry on the illness of susto.
The folk-illness of susto has long captured the interest of anthropologists. A review of the literature reveals a multitude of competing ideas as to its biological basis, its epidemiological patterning, and why it persists as it does. The present essay offers not only a summation of much of the research done on fright-sickness to date, but also suggests a number of new lines of inquiry that, when completed, will advance our understanding of this widely spread, yet still to be fully understood, ethnomedical disease category.
Logan
M H
MH
University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-0720.
D002489:Central America / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008273:Magic; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States