Problemas de nervos: a multivocal symbol of distress for Portuguese immigrants.
This article outlines research on a previous unstudied form of suffering specific to the Portugese immigrant community: problemas de nervos. Thirty-two Portuguese immigrant women (in Waterloo, ON and Boston, MA) were interviewed and each completed a questionnaire. Cluster analysis demonstrated that problemas de nervos has many meanings. The study profiled symptoms, causes and therapies associated with four variations of this culture-specific form of distress: "mal da cabeca" meaning problems with/in the head (e.g., lack of control, visions); " aflição" meaning affliction (e.g., nervous attacks, heart problems); immigration stress (causing sleep disturbances); and, conflicts with others (resulting in pressure within the body). None of the symptom clusters reported matched criteria for a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis, suggesting that problemas de nervos represents an idiomatic rather than universal expression of distress.
James
Susan
S
University of British Columbia, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education, Vancouver, Canada. susan.james@ubc.ca
Fernandes
Mark
M
Navara
Geoffrey S
GS
Harris
Sara
S
Foster
Durwin
D
D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019303:Multilingualism; D011174:Portugal / Q000208:ethnology; D011287:Prejudice; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D013561:Symbolism; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult