The 'multiplex model' of somatic symptoms: application to tinnitus among traumatized Cambodian refugees.
Somatic symptoms are a common clinical presentation of distress among ethnic populations in the USA, particularly traumatized refugees. In this article, we apply a 'multiplex model' of bodily experience to explain how a somatic symptom is evoked, amplified, and generates distress, particularly distress related to post-traumatic stress disorder. We illustrate the multiplex model's applicability to acute episodes of tinnitus (i.e., a buzzing-like sound in the ear) among Cambodian refugees, a common symptom in that group. The article demonstrates the importance of carefully examining somatic symptoms and associated meanings in distressed ethnic populations, especially traumatized refugees, and aims to contribute to a medical anthropology of somatic symptoms.
Harvard Medical School, MA, USA. devon_hinton@hms.harvard.edu
Devon E
DE
Hinton
Susan D
SD
Hinton
Reattidara J-R
RJ
Loeum
Vuth
V
Pich
Mark H
MH
Pollack
D002160:Cambodia / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States