Culturally interpreted symptoms or culture-bound syndromes: A cross-cultural review of nerves
Social Science & MedicinePublished 1 January 1985
Setha Low
Citations144
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.10
SNIP2.01
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TL;DR
A new approach to culture-specific mental disorders through cross-cultural examination of nerves is explored, proposing that nerves be considered a culturally interpreted symptom rather than being culture-bound.
Abstract
This paper explores a new approach to culture-specific mental disorders through cross-cultural examination of nerves. A number of case studies are presented from contrasting cultures. It is proposed that nerves be considered a culturally interpreted symptom rather than being culture-bound.
Keywords
Psychology
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